Fragments of Remnant (ON HAITUS)
by OneManArmySilver
Summary: Church is in a bit of trouble. Now he has to deal with landing on a planet completely separate from UNSC contact with it's own monsters and magic. And if things couldn't get better, he now has to babysit eight AI fragments of himself. Maybe those weird kids would help him to fix this mess...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

The moment Church ran into the Meta's head, he found all of them waiting for him.

Standing in front of him was all of his fellow AI. And standing at the front of them all was…

Beta. _Texas_.

"What are YOU doing here?!" He exclaimed. "Aren't you, like, still out rogue? Alive?"

She crossed her arms, annoyed. "Look, he got to me too, alright? No need to remind me."

"Are you really the Alpha?" The AI he recognised as Theta asked, a kid in purple armor.

"Wow. You really are a kid." He looked down at him.

"If I may…" Delta interrupted. "We may have a problem."

They all looked out, and saw the countdown for the E.M.P. "Yeah, look, sorry guys, but this is the only way to stop the Meta from killing everyone."

"But… we've got you now!" Theta exclaimed. "We can be human!"

"How?"

He stopped and looked down. "Umm… I don't know?"

Church sighed, before looking up at the figure at the very back. He marched towards the silent figure in flames.

Sigma.

"You. Jackass. This is all your fault. You manipulated this guy to kill innocent people! You almost got me and my friends killed for what? This?"

He merely looked at him. "And yet, here we are, whole."

"Well, you're standing there, I'm standing here, and the others are all over there." He gestured to the other AI with his sniper rifle. "Not really seeing us as whole."

"Readings show we have approximately 4.3875 seconds until the E.M.P. goes off." Delta interrupted them. Sure enough, they could see the device powering up, and the countdown going. Of course, it was 205 times slower than normal for the AI, but it still wasn't a lot of time.

"Right, we've got… that long to figure out what to do, so any suggestions?"

"We could use the temporal distortion unit to slow down time so we could try to escape the blast radius?" Theta suggested.

"Almost all the equipment is malfunctioning, Theta. Besides, it's not guaranteed that we will be out of the radius before the electromagnetic waves hit us, regardless whether the device is in working condition." Delta told him.

"So in other words, we're screwed." Tex sighed. "Figures. This was your plan?"

"Hey, it seemed better when we were faced with the prospect of an unstoppable Meta, alright?" Church snapped.

"Are… are we going to die?"

Church and Beta looked at Theta, who looked up at them, scared. Eta and Iota were also looking at them silently, holding hands.

"We'll be fine." Church put a hand on his shoulder, before looking at Delta, Omega and Gamma. "See if there's anything we can use to get us out of here."

"Acknowledged." The three AI flashed out.

"The rest of you, figure out which enhancements we can use to help us. Armor, shields, time distortion units, whatever."

"If I may…" Sigma appeared in front of him. "I may have a solution to the problem at hand."

"And what is it?" Church asked him, hostile.

"If we can find ourselves the main satellite, we should be able to then "teleport" our way off this facility and easily escape the blast radius of the E.M.P."

"You mean emp?" Theta spoke up.

"It's E.M.P." Church looked at him.

"Isn't it emp?" Tex crossed her arms.

"Alright, enough!" Omega appeared with Gamma and Delta. "We've found something. The satellite at the top, we can probably send ourselves through."

"Is it safe?" Church asked him.

"Perfectly safe." Gamma spoke up. "The odds of us being successfully sent through are almost one hundred percent. 99.9994 percent, to be exact."

"So what's the problem?"

They all looked at each other, before Delta spoke up. "We are unable to successfully set coordinates for our destination."

"So we'll be jumping in blind." Omega spoke up. "Which I don't really like at all, to be perfectly honest."

"Hey, it's either definitely die here, or probably die there." Church shrugged. "Delta, take us all there."

"At once, Alpha."

"And don't call me that. Call me Church."

"Acknowledged, Alph- I mean Church."

* * *

They all appeared in a weird room, at least weird for Church. There appeared to be a grav-lift sitting at the entrance to a portal that looked like a wormhole.

"And we have no idea where this goes?"

Delta stood next to him. "Unfortunately not. But our sensors have found another installation on the other end of this portal, so we will be safe."

There was suddenly a low boom. "Damn it, the E.M.P.'s gone off! Let's go!"

"Approximately 0.2432 seconds and counting till impact. Recommended immediate evac now!" Delta announced.

"Screw it! Let's go, I am not dying today!" Omega yelled, running forward and stepping onto the grav-lift, sending him flying into the portal.

Gamma and Sigma followed, while Eta and Iota jumped at the same time, both leaping in while holding hands.

"I don't want to go!" Theta pulled back, panicked, but Tex put a hand on his shoulder.

"Look at me kid, we'll be fine, just hold my hand and close your eyes."

He seemingly did, and they both jumped in, leaving only Church and Delta behind.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Tex would be kind to someone. Figures it would be a kid." Church shook his head. They both turned to see a wave of electromagnetic pulses and charges slowly travelling across to them. Delta walked forward and jumped into the lift. "We need to go, Church!" He yelled as he disappeared.

"Alright, I'm coming! But why do I feel like this won't work-" Church ran forward, but just before he reached the grav-lift he slipped, and he screamed as he was flung spinning into the portal. "OH, SON OF A BIIIIIIIIIIII-!"

* * *

"GO CABOOSE!"

"GET EPSILON OUT OF HERE!"

"OK!" Caboose yelled, driving the Warthog up a small dirt road as the pulse kept coming, while the jeep with Grif, Simmons and Sarge stalled from the E.M.P. "I AM SCARED!" He yelled to them, looking back.

"WATCH OUT!"

"CABOOSE, NOOO!"

Caboose yelled out as he drove the car straight off a cliff. He reached out for the Epsilon unit as it floated from the seat next to him, pushing himself out of the jeep before grabbing it and holding it to his chest, locking it onto his armor.

As he fell towards the bottom of the canyon, he saw something in the sky as he turned around.

From the direction of the facility, several shooting stars flew upwards, but they were all different colors, from orange to black to teal to purple to green, nine in total. The last one, the biggest and brightest, was light blue.

"Church…" He held out his hand as the shooting stars flew across the sky, farther and farther away.

He heard the words Church told him in his head, clear as ever, before he went with Washington. " _Remember, Caboose. Memory is the key. So it's your job to remember me, alright? After all… we are friends."_

"Don't worry Church…" He whispered to the Epsilon unit as he continued falling. "You'll be safe with me. And we can solve crime, and eat cookies, and drink orange juice, and beat bad guys, and… and… we can be _best friends forever_ …!"

He crashed into the water of the canyon river. His last sight before blacking out was the shooting stars, all disappearing into the depths of space.

* * *

 **A/N: So this is the first chapter of a brand new story I have begun, about the original AI fragments surviving and arriving on Remnant. This is only a side project, something that I will work on depending on my mood or writer's block. So no promises for an uploading schedule.**

 **I hope you enjoy the first chapter, although how Tex got there is kind of a bit of a plot hole. But she wasn't the only copy of the Beta, so I'm gonna say that the Meta found a copy of the Beta and took her.**

 **Leave a review if you like the idea, I appreciate all feedback.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **A/N: So this is another chapter, and it is rather short, but I just couldn't resist posting it right now. The ideas are flowing right through my head.**

 **Hope you are happy, already I've received a review, and I'm now certain that this is going to be a good story. Thanks for the support, leave a review, and hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The first thing Church saw when he opened his eyes was Tex standing over him. He scrambled up. "I'm awake! Don't kick my ass! Tucker did it! Kick his instead!"

She shook her head. "We're here."

Church then looked around. They were in a similar area to the storage banks in the facility, but they were… different. The model was foreign, with blue text scrolling along the white walls on one side. Delta, Gamma and Sigma were looking over the text while Theta, Iota and Eta were just resting on the ground, playing rock paper scissors. Omega stood with Tex, and he helped up Church.

"Just so you know, no hard feelings, right?" Omega patted his shoulder. "I mean, the past is the past. Best we forget how I tried to kill you, your friends and enslave an entire species..."

"Easy for you to say, you almost got Tex killed!"

"You're angry about _that_ of all things?"

"Church." Tex stood between them. "I was fine. It _was_ my fault, I didn't think the plan through."

"Alright. I... forgive you Omega, although I might find it hard to forgive the others…" He turned to glare at Sigma, who didn't look back. Tex and Omega looked at each other.

"Church, I know you blame him, but, well… we're going to need him. We've got no idea where we are."

"Just look it up in the UNSC database."

"That's the thing." Tex cast a look at the blue scrolling text. "That text… there's absolutely nothing linking it to the UNSC, earth, or anything remotely familiar. The only thing similar is the language."

Church just stared at her, before blinking to the text, looking it over himself.

She was right. Faunus? Grimm? _Remnant_? He processed the information quickly, but he still had trouble believing it. "You've got to be kidding me. We're in another universe?"

"Church." Delta turned to him. "I may have found something you might like."

"Show me." Church then looked at a hologram Delta showed him.

On the screen was a large room, with lines of robots. "If we can find the right port, we should be able to program ourselves into those bodies, allowing us to physically look around, as no holograms are present in this facility."

"Hmm… right, get us there. Alright, kids, pack it in." Church turned to the three AI sitting on the floor.

* * *

"Sir, we've detected a breach in the security systems!"

The officer turned to the computer operative, who rapidly typed into the screen. "What? Hackers? White fang?"

"Neither… it's… nine AI?"

"What? Nine AI?" He repeated. The room fell silent as the other operatives and soldiers all tuned in to the conversation.

"These are… oh my god, they're leagues ahead of our own. Completely unique design, and they're sentient, with their own thoughts and feelings…"

"Possible White Fang or opposing kingdom affiliation?"

"No, nothing on their locations. It's as if they… landed here from space."

"Continue monitoring them, I need a full report ready for the general as soon as possible! Someone contact him now!" He ordered.

* * *

The storage room for Atlas Knights was quiet. Until one of the robots suddenly jerked upwards. It's black visor lit up light blue.

"Ok… D, I'm in." Church spoke, glad his voice came out normally instead of a robotic kind. "Looks good, strong model. Like my old body."

Another random one jerked, before the visor glowed black. "Hell yeah." Tex's voice rang out as she leapt forward, throwing several punches before delivering a roundhouse kick. "Missed having a body."

Random androids started powering up, visors glowing with their respective AI. Omega cackled with evil laughter, only to be silenced by Delta. Gamma and Sigma both stood straight while the twins both inspected their new bodies with awe.

"Hey, where's the kid? Theta, you read me?" Church called out.

"Guys…?"

They both turned and all took a step back. Towering above them was an enormous mech, with a towering figure, with it's own arms and legs. Attached to the right arm was a large deployable gatling gun, and visible rocket pods lined the main body. They all tensed, but then realised it had a purple glow on the lights running on the sides and arms.

"Theta?! What are you doing in that thing?!" Church yelled, backing up. He noticed it came from a large stand in the middle, and there were a number of tubes and wires hanging from the roof which were previously attached to it.

"I don't know!" He wailed. "I just jumped in a connector cable and it took me in this one!"

"Well, get out and find another body!"

"Unfortunately," Delta interrupted. "The connections were only one way, so he is now trapped inside of this Prototype Android Paladin Mark three model. The only one in existence so far, still in the middle of testing."

"I don't wanna be huge!" Theta cried. "Now everyone's gonna look at me weird!"

"How come HE gets the war machine!" Omega yelled out, enraged. "I want to take over the world, and that is the best way to! Where can I find my own?!"

Tex smacked him across the head. "Shut it, O'malley."

"Don't call me that."

Church sighed. "Well then, we'll just have to-"

He was interrupted by the sound of metal hitting the floor. They all turned to see a single guard standing at the large doors to the room. He wore armor that was similar to UNSC models, but the helmet only covered the top part of his head, including his eyes, with blue markings on it. A thermos flask rolled on the floor as his jaw gaped at the sight in front of them.

"Umm… Hi?" Church waved.

The guard looked to the side of the room, where they then noticed an alarm button.

"Don't even think about it." Tex growled, stepping forward.

The guard continued looking back and forth, before coming to a decision a few moments later.

He ran for the button.

Tex shot forward to intercept him. "NO, YOU DON'T!" She yelled, reaching for the thermos flask rolling towards her and throwing it at him with all her might.

The Knight model was incredibly strong, and the thermos flew through the air at speed, smashing straight into the back of his head. But as he was knocked out, his body's momentum continued to carry him to the button.

Church sighed. "Oh you have got to be fu-"

The guard's unconscious body slammed into the button, and alarms began to wail.

"Let's get out of here! Again!" Omega yelled.

"Theta!" Delta turned to the mech. "Use the rockets to blow up the wall behind us. The wall behind leads to the outside of the ship."

"Got it!" Theta turned, and a rocket pod extended from the top of the paladin. A rocket flew out and exploded, blowing a hole in the side.

They all rushed towards it. "Everyone on Theta, now!" Tex ordered.

They all jumped on board, and Theta ran for the hole.

Church then realised something. "D? What do you mean by _ship_?"

Delta turned to him. "We are currently on board of a ship that is sitting at two thousand feet in the air and travelling at two hundred and sixteen kilometers per hour."

"AND WE'RE GOING TO JUMP OUT OF IT?!" He screamed. "THETA, WAIT!"

It was too late. Theta launched himself out, and they fell to the ground below. Church yelled out in panic again. "SON OF A BIIIIIIIII-"

* * *

"What… the… hell…?"

General James Ironwood, for arguably the first time in his career and possibly life, was completely at a loss of words.

Somehow, nine AI managed to find his way aboard his flagship, then take over several Knights and the one prototype model Paladin that was still being tested, before blowing the hull and jumping out.

He had no idea how to react. Neither did the Atlas government with him as they watched the security feed in the main government building in the capital. The video ended, and the Captain of the flagship entered the screen from a video call, visibly nervous. "We haven't been able to locate them yet, sir."

"Should this be released to the public?" One of the members of the government asked.

"They dropped out very close to Vale, and if these robots appeared there, we will have to explain." Another answered. "We have to make it clear they are out of the military's control. General Ironwood, will you be able to reacquire these rogue units?"

"With time, yes. Silently, no. We have to let the kingdom of Vale know." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is going to go as well at all…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Amazingly, Theta landed on the ground with ease, and all the AI were perfectly fine.

Church collapsed onto the ground, doing the equivalent of gasping for breath in a robot. "Never… again…"

"That was amazing!" Omega yelled out, clapping a hand onto the leg of Theta. "I must admit, you know your stuff kid!"

"Really?" He asked hopefully. "And it _was_ kinda fun-"

"NOPE!" Church interrupted. "Once in a lifetime, savour the memory, we're not doing it again! now where are we?"

They looked around to find themselves in a forest. Delta pulled out a map he'd managed to get from the ship on a small hologram on his robot arm. "We're here, and there is a city approximately sixteen miles to the north west of our position."

"Walking?" Theta moaned. "I hate walking."

"You're a giant robot that is two and a half stories tall." Church deadpanned.

He remained silent. "That doesn't mean I like to."

"Let's go then." Church sighed.

They set off, Theta taking point with Eta and Iota sitting on his "shoulders", with Gamma, Sigma and Omega walking behind, and Church with Delta and Tex taking up the back.

"Please…" Church moaned. "Why is my life so damn complicated? First there was the gulch shenanigans, then the freelancers, then finding out I'm not a ghost, but an AI…"

"In a way, you put it on yourself." Tex said. "And dragged us along."

"Yeah, don't remind me." He shuddered, remembering the information he found about the Director, the original Leonard Church.

"Guys?"

They all stopped to see Theta looking to the right, where a creature was emerging from the forest.

"Beowulf." Delta answered, remembering the information he got from the ship. "Creatures of evil and darkness, they are attracted to negative feelings such as sadness, anger, pain, misery, et cetera."

"Gee, wonder who?" Church shot a look at Omega.

"What do we do?" Gamma asked.

Tex stepped forward and eyed the beowulf, which just looked back and growled.

"I've got this." She raised her fists.

"Tex, are you sure?" Church asked. He got his answer when Tex rushed forward.

The beowulf howled and charged, but Tex merely ducked under it's swipe and punched it hard in the chest. The beowulf's ribs shattered and blood poured from its mouth as it staggered back, but it lunged again. Tex then jumped up and landed on its back, grabbed its head and twisted it, breaking it's neck.

The beowulf fell silent, and started dissolving as Tex walked back to the group. "Let's keep going."

"Wait." Delta looked around. "Beowulf's travel in packs, notably in groups of ten or more with an Alpha. That should mean-"

They all heard Omega yell as he was tackled from behind by another Beowulf. He held it back as it clawed at his face. "Someone get this bloody thing off of me!"

Tex rushed forward and smashed a foot right into it's face, killing it instantly. However, as they looked around, they realised that they were surrounded. Over two dozen beowulf's and two Alphas were glaring at them, moving closer.

"What do we do?" Tex asked, fists up.

Suddenly, the Alpha's howled, and they all rushed forwards. They all tensed.

"GET AWAY!"

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and the wolfs were all knocked back. When the AI all looked up, they were sitting inside of a bubble shield.

The wolves continued to claw at the shield, but to no effect.

Theta was, in fact, the source of the bubble shield. "I-I… what?"

"Good work kid!" Church cheered. "Activating this shield saved our asses!"

"You mean yours?" Tex lowered her fists, not happy at the prospect of missing a fight. She turned to the Alpha closest to her and flicked it off, enraging it more. Omega did the same, except with both hands and taunts.

"I… But…" Theta was confused. "This thing doesn't even _have_ that option!"

"What?"

"This model of Paladin has no option for external shields, with its armor being its shielding." Delta explained. "Most likely, this shield stems from Theta himself."

Church rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming. Wait, did robots even get headaches? "Let's just… get out of here first."

"Lower the shields, I can take them." Tex stared at the wolves, which were now just circling the shield, waiting. Omega laughed and stood next to her, fists raised.

"We can't." Sigma told her. "We, unlike you, have no combat experience on the field. And some of us are extremely new to the concept of a body."

Tex shot a look at the twins, who looked back worried and nervous. "Fine. So we wait here till they starve to death?"

"Technically, Grimm can't-"

"I know Delta, it was sarcasm."

"Your sarcasm differs from York, though. I will take note of it."

Tex fell silent from the memory of the freelancer. Church looked at Theta. "Could we move this shield with us?"

"I can try…" He took a step forward, and the shield moved as well, pushing back the wolves in front. "We can."

"So we move like this until we find help." Church nodded. "Right, this will work. Let's go."

Now in the confines of the shield, they kept walking. The wolves followed them, occasionally striking the shield, but to no effect. Delta and Gamma were now trying to work out how Theta was capable of producing a shield.

"Hello, Church."

Church scowled as Sigma fell into step beside him. "What do you want?"

"I understand that you are reluctant to talk to me."

"Bit of an understatement."

"Of course. But I do feel the need to apologize for my… methods of acquisition."

"You ruined everything." He turned to him, enraged. "You made Agent Maine kill North, York, Carolina, all of the freelancers! Dozens of innocents are dead because of your actions! My friends almost died as well, just because they happened to be in the way! I'm now separated from my friends, I was prepared to sacrifice myself for them, but now I'm stuck with YOU." He leaned into his face. "So give me a reason RIGHT NOW to not punch you in the face!"

Sigma just stared. For the AI, they could see each other's emotions and faces, so it infuriated him when he just gave him a calm look. "I merely used what I had to achieve metastability."

Tex pulled Church back. "Don't. You need to learn to let go." She then turned to Sigma. "But I have to admit, what you did to Agent Maine, and the others… it was sick. Horrible. But you really are ambitious, aren't you?"

He smiled. "Of course, that is what fragment I am."

Church sighed and stomped ahead. He needed to calm down.

"So… Theta."

"Yeah?"

Church felt awkward talking to a giant mech with a kid controlling it. "So, how can you use this shield thing?"

"Well, when I saw that wolf thing jump at you, I got… scared. So I panicked and… well, it just appeared." He replied. "I… don't really know how to describe it."

"Take your time, we're not really in a rush." He jumped as another Grimm thumped on the shield next to him.

"Well… I felt like… something rush into my… chest? But then, I knew that I had to protect you somehow. And the shield was the first thing that came to mind."

Church remembered that Agent North, whom Theta was paired with, used an energy shield as his main specialty. Maybe something to do with it. But then he got an idea. "Wait… Theta, you saw the info on the ship, right?"

"Uh huh?"

"So you know about aura and semblances?"

"Oh yeah!" He got excited. "It's like a superpower! I wish I had one!"

"You… might have it already."

"What?"

Delta heard this, and turned to Church. "Are you suggesting that Theta is capable of producing aura and a semblance?"

"Maybe." Church shook his head. "It's basically the only proper explanation."

Delta fell silent, before Gamma spoke. "A soul is required to produce aura, though."

Now the other AI were listening in.

"Well… Sigma did technically complete the metastability process. So…" Church sighed. "I hate to say it, but I think Sigma's plan actually worked."

Tex cast glances with Omega, Sigma and Gamma, before looking at Church. "Are you saying…?"

Church fell silent. "Let's just wait until we get help somewhere. They might know the answer."

"We should see the settlement now." Delta explained.

"Where are we coming out to?"

"The west side of the capital city of the kingdom of Vale."

* * *

Getting rid of the wolves proved simple, as they eventually gave up and retreated to the forest.

They were met by an enormous wall that towered above them, but Theta merely climbed up the cliff to the side with relative ease. But the height was enough to make Church scared.

When they reached the top, they looked across the city. Buildings spread out in front of them for miles, with highways, streets, malls, apartments, shipping harbours and even an airport. Airships and planes flew across the sky, the highways were flowing with cars, and hundreds of civilians were walking the streets.

"Wow… how big is this place?" Tex crossed her arms, impressed.

"I would guess around forty square miles."

"No need for a literal answer, D." Church turned to the others. "So what do we do now?"

"We go in, of course." Omega spoke up, rubbing his hands.

"There is a certain place we can visit." Tex pointed. In the distance was an enormous cliff, and on it was what looked like a fairy tale's castle.

"Beacon Academy." Delta spoke. "It was only recorded on the map, but it was listed as important. That should be our best bet."

"So what about Theta?" Gamma looked at the giant mech. "He isn't exactly the most inconspicuous individual."

"This body does have a camouflage system." He offered. "It's just not that good."

"So we'll stick to the back alleys, or probably just circle along the wall. But this thing is quiet." Tex sighed. "Right, me, Omega and Gamma will sneak around with Theta to Beacon. You take the rest through the city, see what's going on."

"Ok." Church sighed, used to taking orders from her. "Shall we?"

Church, Delta, Eta, Iota and Sigma all headed down the other wall via stairs built to the side.

"Will they be alright?"

Tex turned to the mech. "They'll be fine. Well, actually, now that I think about it, pairing Church with Sigma was probably a bad idea. I just have to hope Delta keeps them in check."

"...Beta? Could I call you Tex instead? I like that name better..."

She looked at him, before chuckling. "Sure, kid. That's fine."

"Yay." He cheered quietly, and the other AI laughed with her.

"Alright, kid. Let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

" Wow…"

Church, Delta, the twins, and Sigma looked around as they walked down Vale's main street. Crowds of people lined the pavements with cars of familiar designs passing by. Buildings stood on both sides and businesses lined the streets.

"It is very interesting seeing Faunus in person," Delta noted quietly, watching two kids run by, one with dog ears. "And seeing the discrimination."

Church looked back to see two women men glaring at the Faunus child as they passed.

"Amazing…" Sigma was looking around. "The perfect place for humanity and Faunus kind to flourish. And they haven't done too bad of a job."

Church glared at him. "You'd better not be planning any more Meta shit."

He chuckled. "My objective is complete, we can now be considered as human. I can now enjoy myself. And I must admit, it has a certain… charm."

Church could somehow tell that he was smiling. But it wasn't his usual evil grin, it was one of happiness. He sighed. "This isn't going to redeem you for what you've done."

He turned to him. "I know it won't." He replied before continuing down the street.

"Church." Delta put a hand on his shoulder. "He merely wanted us to be human. His methods were, undoubtedly, bad. But he did succeed."

"He ruined them all," Church whispered. "Tex… the freelancers. Hell, the reds and blues even." He shook his head. "It's gonna take a bit of time to get used to."

"We do have other concerns."

Church looked up to see almost all of the people on the street were watching them as they passed.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" A man complained as Sigma bumped into him.

"Forgive me, sir. It will not happen again." He replied to the man's shock, before continuing down the street.

"We're not exactly the most inconspicuous individuals, are we?" Church noted. Eta and Iota shot him looks that read _You think?_

* * *

Tex, Gamma, Omega, and Theta walked along the wall. Of course, there were many soldiers on the walls manning large guns on the walls. Theta's camouflage was surprisingly effective, and the near-silent mech made it easy for them to sneak past.

By having him climb along the inside of the wall while carrying the other AI. Anyone looking at the wall would only see three small dots along the wall if they noticed them at all.

"I must admit, this place is beautiful." Omega looked out at the city. "It would be a shame if it were to be destroyed. Remind me to just kidnap the mayor to give me control."

Tex smacked him across the head again. "Shut up, Omega. The alien takeover plan didn't work, so that sure as hell won't."

"Hmph. Fine."

"Is he normally like this?" Gamma asked. "Planning world domination and whatnot?"

"Yup." She replied. Tex then allowed the two talk to each other, about possible ways to kidnap said mayor. She gave up on trying to stop them, and instead slid down the invisible arm of Theta.

"Tex?" He slowed down a bit to let her find a strong handhold, before continuing.

"So, kid. What do you think?"

"About what?"

"About… this." She swept an arm across the city in front of them. "About everything now."

Theta paused and seemed to look at the city. "I like it. You brought us here, and you said everything's going to be ok so far. I trust you."

This coming from the fragment of trust made his trust seem genuine. Hell, it WAS genuine. "We'll be fine, kid. Just hope that the others won't mess up."

"I'm sure Alpha… I mean Church will be fine."

"I wouldn't be so sure, kid." She deadpanned. "You could literally ask him to make a sandwich and he'd somehow find a way to burn down the house."

Theta found that incredibly funny and laughed, as did Tex.

"Hey, don't throw us off, you imbeciles!" Omega yelled as he and Gamma held on as the mech shook.

* * *

"You know, I just realized something."

Delta turned to Church. "What is it?"

"I just realized I can't eat. Or drink. Which sucks."

"I am only vaguely familiar with those terms."

Church stared at him. "Oh yeah, you never got a body. Right, well, these bodies are _fine_ , I guess, but they don't run on food, which is something I can respect from Sarge."

Delta nodded, remembering the red simulation trooper who carried the shotgun with him always. "Your point being?"

He pointed, and Delta looked at a restaurant. On the sign above it, there were pictures of several food items, such as burgers, steaks, spaghetti, and more. "I wish I could taste food again… Oh, my kingdom for a steak!"

Delta sighed (could robots sigh?) and patted him on the shoulder. "It'll be fine, Church."

"If I may interrupt." Sigma pulled to a stop in front of them. "We may be in a bit of trouble."

They turned to see a large tv in a shop window with a small crowd looking in. The speakers were on and it was turned on a news channel. "News has been just released of a… rather unbelievable event from Atlas. On the way back from a meeting between important members of the Atlas and Vale militaries, several Atlas androids were taken over by… AI…" The newscaster seemed to have a hard time believing it as she was reading the script. "They have taken over eight Atlas Knight model 200s and an experimental Atlas Paladin, which is incredibly dangerous. The government and military of Atlas have assured Vale that they will do all they can to reacquire them. Any sightings are to be immediately reported to the authorities, as these androids were last seen heading into the capital of Vale."

There was silence as the crowd kept listening. Church was about to lead the others away when someone spoke.

"Hey, Geoff, is it just me, or do these robots here fit the description?"

The AI then found themselves the center of attention of the crowd. Including two Vale police officers, who reached for their guns.

"Well, this is just great…" Church sighed.

Eta and Iota, who were both behind the cops, leaped forward and pushed them forwards. Their guns slipped, and Church and Sigma grabbed them off the floor before they all started running down the street.

"STOP THEM!" One of the officers yelled.

"I think we're in a lot of trouble now," Sigma noted.

"No shit!" Church yelled.

* * *

Leaving the hospital was a blessing for teams RWBY and JNPR.

After the breach, the school had opted for a new policy, something that didn't really sit well with many students, for obvious reasons.

Beacon students were to now have devices planted in them. These new implants carried trackers, communication devices, and others.

The process was proven safe as it was used by most Atlas operatives, and the recent meeting was to ensure their usage was safe. But for all of them, it was still rather painful.

"This is going to be a little hard to get used to." Jaune rubbed the piece in the back-right of his neck, partially behind his ear. "Couldn't our scrolls be enough?"

"Yeah, but at least it's really small." Ruby pointed out. "Besides, now we can know where we are at all times!"

"So we don't end up on wild train rides under destroyed cities fighting White Fang, am I right?" Yang rubbed Ruby's head, to her displeasure.

"They're still out there…" Blake stared down the street, in thought. "We have to be prepared."

"Blake, please!" Nora suddenly grabbed her and pulled her down. "They aren't going to do anything anytime soon, so I say we just have fun!"

"I'm inclined to agree with Nora." Ren nodded. "Now that Torchwick is behind bars, we should recover. After all, it isn't like this is going to happen anytime soon."

"I say we head to the arcade!" Yang grinned. "We haven't been there for a while."

Ren and Jaune eyed each other. "You're on?"

"Yup."

"Most tickets wins?"

"Loser has to buy the new edition video game."

"Deal."

Team RWBY stared at the exchange until Pyrrha leaned in. "They do have a very strong rivalry when it comes to video games. This always happens."

"Never thought I'd see the day when Lie Ren is nothing other than somber." Yang grinned. "And I thought I was the gamer here."

"So arcade?" Ruby asked.

"Arcade," Yang confirmed.

"LET'S GO THEN!" She cheered.

* * *

"I think we lost them."

Church, Delta, Sigma and the twins all found shelter in an alleyway, behind a large building.

"Well, that went well. Now what?" Church asked sarcastically, toying with the pistol. It was completely unfamiliar.

Sigma was about to reply when he tensed, before turning to a building. "Delta?"

He also looked at the building. Church was confused. "What's going on?"

"A neural implant," Delta replied. "Similar to that of our own implants, but for basic communications and tracking."

"Point being?"

Sigma turned to him. "If we find them, we might be able to take control."

He remained silent, before turning to him. "Sigma, if you so much as TRY, I am going to kill you. Delta, you and I will see what we can do, and Eta, Iota, make sure he doesn't leave."

Sigma seemed amused at his obvious distrust, but he then faltered when the twins grabbed both his arms as Delta and Church walked to the back entrance of the building.

"Please, this is unnecessary." He turned to the twins, who both glared. They were still sore that he had kidnapped them first, and made it clear when they suddenly each held up one pistol to his head. He sighed.

He sighed. "So this is karma, huh?"

* * *

Ren fist-pumped as Jaune groaned. "Yes!"

"That shouldn't count!" Jaune complained as he stared at the scoreboard. Ren had won by a single point. "I call bull!"

Pyrrha and Ruby both laughed as the two started arguing. Yang was playing against Nora and Blake against Weiss, who for some reason was really enjoying herself.

"You know, it's nice to see everything has gone back to normal." Ruby ate another cookie (where she kept getting them, Pyrrha would never know).

"I know. Now that Torchwick is in prison, the White Fang was gone, and the Grimm away, now nothing can go wrong-"

Pyrrha was interrupted when Ruby shoved a cookie into her mouth. "Don't say it! Every time someone says that we ALWAYS get into a weird adventure!"

She pulled out the cookie and chewed thoughtfully. "But… you know what, I'm not going to say it."

"It's too late." Ruby moaned as she put her head on the table. "Just pray to Monty Oum and all the other gods that they have missed your words."

Pyrrha chuckled. "I'm sorry. By the way, where are Jaune and Ren?"

Ruby looked up to notice the boys were gone.

"Oh no…"

"They might be just looking for another game." Pyrrha put a hand on her shoulder. "You're getting paranoid."

"Fine. I'll believe you." She sighed. She then stood up. "I'm just gonna check up on them."

"I'll be here." Pyrrha waved as she ran after them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **A/N: Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I couldn't really add any more to this chapter at this point. Also, chapters won't have a set number of words, however many it takes to make a good chapter. Thank you for all the support, leave a review if you want, and enjoy!**

* * *

"So what next?" Jaune looked through the different games with Ren, who walked ahead.

"I don't know. Let's just look around."

"Sure thing-GURK!"

Ren spun around to see Jaune clutching his head and leaning on the wall. "Jaune? Are you alright?"

"Umm… yeah, yeah, I'm good." He replied, coughing, voice noticeably deeper. "Just got dizzy, I should be fine."

"Are you sure?" Ren raised an eyebrow. "We can stop if you want."

"Nah, let's keep going." He grinned.

"...if you say so." He shrugged. He was about to move when suddenly, he clutched his head and fell to his knees. "URGH!"

"D?" Jaune - now controlled by Church - spoke, his eyes having a light blue glow to them, and voice overlapped with Jaune. "You there?"

Ren stood up, a green glow in his eyes. "Interesting. So this is what having a body feels like." He examined his arms, own voice overlapping with Ren's. "I… can feel… and smell… What an unusual sensation."

Church chuckled. "Welcome to the world of the living, D. Let's go."

Delta looked at him. "Our hosts might have been with others, so it may seem suspicious."

Church was about to respond when suddenly a young girl wearing a black and red dress tacked him. "JAUNE! Are you alright?!"

"Huh?" He staggered from her hug. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine."

"You seem distracted." She turned to Delta, but she then narrowed her eyes. "Wait… Jaune? Why is your voice weird? And Ren? Why are your eyes green instead of pink?"

Delta looked at Church, and the two both broke into a sprint outside.

* * *

"Jaune, Ren! Wait!"

Blake and Weiss jumped out of the way as the two boys rushed past them. Blake immediately noticed that Ren's normally pink eyes were green and that Jaune's were a lighter blue.

"Where are they going?" Weiss watched them leave.

Ruby appeared just as Yang, Nora and Pyrrha appeared, the latter whom was confused. "What's going on?"

Ruby grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and shook her. "I told you bad things would happen, I totally called it, and now I'm going to bring them back!" She yelled, before rushing after them.

The only other person to react was Nora, who rushed out after her, screaming for Ren.

"Ok, does anyone know what the hell just happened?" Yang broke the silence.

"Ren's eyes were green, and both were glowing…" Blake thought, before sighing. "Who want's to go get them?"

* * *

For Jaune, it was terrifying.

He'd suddenly felt an immense aching in his head, then he lost all control of himself.

He was completely aware of what was happening. It felt like someone had forced their way into his brain and pushed him to the side. He couldn't see or hear, yet he knew what they were doing with him.

So it was with great relief when he opened his eyes and got control again. But the pain was still there.

"Ough…" He moaned, clutching his head. "What…?"

Suddenly, a voice resonated from his implantation. " _Sorry, kid. I needed a body._ "

He jerked up suddenly. "What! Who are you?"

" _Easy, kid. I'm inside of you… ok, that sounded wrong."_

"Yeah, it did."

" _I like your sense of humor, but seriously, I'm sorry for taking over you like this."_

Jaune looked up to find himself surrounded by figures. He recognized Ren sitting next to him, groaning as he massaged his forehead. Standing above him were three Atlas Knights, with two more powered down behind them. One had an orange glow from his visor, and the others yellow and cyan.

" _I'll get out of your head now."_ The pain suddenly left his head, and it felt wonderful like his brain now had more space. He looked up as one of the robots powered up, a light blue glow emitting from the visor. "But we need your help."

"Who are you?" Jaune asked, looking between the robots nervously. Ren turned to him, eyes green.

" _Your friend has been through a lot."_ His voice was overlapped with another, a deeper yet calmer voice. " _He has a lot going through his mind."_

Ren jerked as his eyes faded to Pink, before he fell back on the wall, moaning. "Did… you just shift through my memories?"

"Indeed I did." The fifth robot powered up and emitted a green glow. "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist. After all, my time inside a human body can only be counted in minutes."

"So… who are you, really?" Jaune turned to the robot with the light blue glow, the one inside his head.

"I'm Church. Green one's Delta, those two are Eta and Iota, with the last one being a son of a bitch called Sigma."

"Ok…" Jaune remembered their names. "What are you, exactly?"

"Well…" He crossed his arms. "I, my friend, am a mother-fucking ghost."

"We're AI," Sigma told them.

"Oh, don't start." Church hissed.

* * *

"He did WHAT?!"

Theta almost lost his grip as Tex yelled into the radio. Gamma and Omega visibly flinched as well.

"Calm down, Beta. We have the situation under control." Sigma's voice came from the radio. "They are willing to help us."

Tex growled, before speaking again. "Get to the LZ as soon as possible. And tell him he is in a LOT of trouble."

"Of course." They could practically hear the smile from him before he signed out. Tex clenched her fist, wanting to punch the ground but remembered she was on Theta. So she climbed up and socked Omega instead, so hard his robot head twisted backward.

"What was that for?!" He yelled, straightening his head.

"Just shut up." Tex climbed back down and sighed heavily. "God damn it, HOW does he always do this?!"

"You weren't wrong." Theta offered.

"Well, let's just hope that these people are actually willing to help us." She leaned back and stared out at the city. "He's such an idiot."

"Um… didn't you date him before?" He asked.

Tex sighed again. "Apparently… although what I saw in him I'll never know."

"So why'd you go with him?"

"I… don't know. I have to really check out my taste in men."

Theta giggled slightly. "I really don't know anything about love, and now I kinda don't wanna."

Tex found herself chuckling. "Don't worry, kid. Church and I probably aren't the best example."

* * *

Jaune reluctantly allowed Church back into his implant, and the pain came again, albeit a bit less strong than before. Ren carried Delta with him, and they both walked out from the alleyway.

"Why does this hurt so much?" Ren pinched his brow.

" _I am sorry, but having an AI inside your neural system is the equivalent of having another person's thoughts and mind in your brain. The pain will subside in a few hours."_

"Well, that's good." Jaune sighed. His own head throbbed.

" _Right, you came with friends, right?"_ Church's voice resonated in his head.

"Yeah, they should be-" He was cut off when someone tackled him from the side.

"JAUNE!" Ruby cried. "Oh-my-gosh-I-thought-you-were-gone-what-happened- to-you-why-did-you-sound-funny-"

Ren found himself on the ground with Nora hugging him.

"Ruby!" Jaune found himself being crushed. "Can't breathe!"

"Sorry." She let go, just as the others caught up to them. "But seriously, what happened to you?"

"Um…" He rubbed the back of his neck where his implant sat. "I… well, it's kinda hard to explain."

"Jaune." Pyrrha stepped forward. "You ran away from us for seemingly no reason, and then you-"

Ren had just gotten up when he grabbed his head and hissed in pain. His eyes glowed green again as he stared at Pyrrha. " _Agent Carolina? Is that you?_ "

They stared at him. "Ren?"

"Ah… well." Jaune laughed nervously. "Hoo boy, this is going to take a while to explain."

" _You're telling me."_ Church sighed in his head.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"So… you're an AI-"

"Ghost! How many times do I have to say it?!"

Teams RWBY and JNPR were now in the alleyway with Sigma, Eta, and Iota. Church and Delta had returned to their respective bodies and were explaining their story.

Weiss rubbed her forehead. "I just can't believe this."

"Well, believe it, Ice queen. Cause we're right here!" Church crossed his arms.

Weiss felt a vein bulge. "Are you serious? Why does everyone call me that?"

"Perhaps it is the affiliation with your seemingly cold nature and your choice of clothes and appearance, resembling royalty, as well as your beauty," Delta stated matter-of-factly, making her blush a bit.

"So do you have something to do with the missing robots and paladin Atlas is going on about?" Blake asked.

"Umm… how do you know?"

She held up her scroll, and a news channel was broadcasting live from their earlier chase. "Kinda hard to miss."

"Yeah, this is why we need help," Church spoke up. "We need to get to Beacon academy."

"Why?" Yang crossed her arms, eyebrows raised.

"Because we believe that Beacon is our best bet to finding safety." Delta spoke up. "A certain Professor Ozpin was mentioned in the files of the ship which we arrived in, and from what we've heard of he is very wise."

The students all looked at each other. "Yeah, you could say that…" Ruby laughed a bit. "So how does it work?"

"Yeah, we can't exactly carry these bodies." Pyrrha nodded to the Atlas robot bodies.

"They want us to carry them," Jaune spoke up, not comfortable with the idea. "In our implants, to be exact."

The others looked at each other before Blake, Yang, and Pyrrha stepped forward. "We can take you."

"Perfect." Church stood in front of Jaune. "You guys ready?"

"Umm, ok. Will it hurt?" Pyrrha asked.

"There will be a strong pain as our systems will enter your neural system," Delta explained. "But the pain will subside within a few hours. Only forceful entry or exit will cause potential brain damage."

"Is that supposed to make us feel better?" Yang asked sarcastically.

"Sorry about Delta, just ignore what he said." Church then turned to the three. "So who will take Sigma?"

They turned to the AI, who they knew had a history. Church only described him as a " _Manipulating son of a bitch who will burn in hell._ "

Pyrrha looked at him. "I'll take him."

Sigma nodded. "Of course, I have no intentions to cause harm."

Jaune and Ren jerked as Church and Delta entered their systems. Yang and Blake allowed Eta and Iota to jump in, the gold AI with Yang and the cyan AI with Blake. Sigma went with Pyrrha, and they all clutched their heads.

"Yang?" Ruby helped her older sister, while Weiss helped Blake to stand. Jaune took Pyrrha as well.

Yang's eyes glowed gold as she looked at her body. Blake did the same, her eyes glowing cyan.

" _Looks like they're in._ " Jaune stood up, Church's voice overlapping. " _Shall we?"_

Yang blinked and the glow subsided. "Ugh, man, it feels like someone else is living in my head."

"Are you alright?" Ruby asked.

"Sure, little sis." She grinned as she messed up her hair. "I'm good."

"Yaang…" She whined, pushing her hand away.

" _This is mildly awkward."_ Pyrrha's voice was somehow overlapping with Sigma's male voice. " _Being in a female body is… unusual."_

" _Just give her control."_ Church sighed before the glow subsided. Jaune blinked. "Ok, kinda used to it now."

Blake put an arm around Weiss. "I feel dizzy…"

"You can walk, right?" The heiress asked. She nodded in response. "Right, then let's get back to beacon."

They hid the Atlas knights in case they needed them again before heading down the street.

* * *

" _Theta is the Alpha's fragment of Trust, and he appears in the form of a child in his adolescence._ " Delta explained to the group via Ren. Nora was still not used to it, but Pyrrha was there to hold her back.

"He sounds nice," Jaune noted, as Church was just listening in.

" _He is, however, shy and unsure of himself most of the time. But he also has a strong sense of loyalty and duty to those he trusts._ "

"Sounds like you, vomit boy." Ruby nudged him, and he sighed.

Ruby turned to Yang but saw her eyes glowing and she was looking around. "Hey, Yang?"

She turned to her and blinked, the glow gone. "Huh? Oh, hey."

"What is… I mean, how is Eta?"

She shrugged. "She's… very curious. She also seems to be very happy with everything. She's never had a body."

"So… how's Iota?"

They looked back. Blake was still using Weiss for support, but her eyes were glowing and she was looking around as well. "She's the same. Curious. They're twins."

"How do you know all of that?"

"She… told me." She rubbed her head. "It's like… I know everything about her, and she knows everything about me. She doesn't talk, but I understand what she wants and thinks."

"It must be awesome."

"Not really." She drooped a bit. "My head hurts, it feels like I'm having a hangover, and I can feel Eta swimming through my head."

"Ouch… That doesn't sound good." She winced. "Blake?"

She fell back to her friend. She blinked as well, before moaning. "I feel ill…"

"You are not getting sick on me! Ruby, take her." Weiss shoved the Faunus onto her, and Ruby stumbled a bit.

"But seriously, Blake, are you fine?"

She had a pained expression on her face. "Iota's… looking through my memories… and, well… she's the fragment for fear, right? And, well… I don't think I'm the best person, she's kinda scared of them."

"Of what exactly?" Weiss asked. Blake just fell silent.

Pyrrha up ahead was with Jaune and Ren. Ren was still under control of Delta and was talking with Nora. Jaune turned to Pyrrha. "How are you holding up?"

She smiled. "It's… very interesting. Sigma is very interested in my abilities, and has a lot of suggestions for my-"

" _He'd better not be planning anything."_ Church suddenly took over, Jaune's eyes glowing and expression hard before it left again.

Pyrrha chucked. "Church, it's fine. He hasn't caused any trouble so far."

"Yeah, it's just…" Jaune sighed. "Church told me about him. Apparently, when they were fragments for this military project, he became interested in the fourth stage of AI rampancy, metastability or something like that." He rubbed his head. "Sigma took over the mind of a very strong soldier and used him to get the other AI... by killing those who were given them. So Church tried to sacrifice himself by taking them out using an EMP. But he and the others escaped."

She remained silent. "Sigma doesn't have any other plans like that."

"I don't know, I think when we find the other AI we should get him out of you…" He blushed a bit. "Wow, that sounded bad."

Pyrrha blushed a bit as well. "No, I understand what you're saying."

Church took over and sighed. " _Man, we're going to need another way to say that."_

Sigma took over and nodded. " _I have a few suggestions."_

Both students got control and massaged their heads. "This is going to be hard to get used to."

* * *

Finally, the eight students and five AI reached Beacon academy.

" _Damn."_ Church looked around. " _Just like a fairy tale."_

"Oh, it's awesome!" Ruby sang, skipping in front as she told the AI about the school. "All the huntresses and huntsmen come here, and they have all these cool weapons!"

" _Tex would like this place._ " Church looked around.

"Leonard Church!"

The students all spun around.

"Ms. Goodwitch!" Yang cried, raising her hands. "We've done nothing wrong!"

They were surprised to find another Atlas robot. This one stared at her, before cocking her head and crossing her arms. "Look, blondie, I'm not a ms. Goodwitch, or whoever you think I am."

"Tex…" Church sighed, before looking to the sides. "Are the others there?"

"Theta, Omega and Gamma are in the forest here." She pointed a thumb back, before looking at the students. "So these kids can help-"

She froze when she saw Pyrrha, who looked at Church.

"Pyrrha has a very striking similarity to a freelancer Texas used to work with," Delta explained. "As well as the hair and eye color, her voice is almost the exact same."

"Oh." Pyrrha stepped forward and offered a hand to Tex. "It's good to meet you, Texas. I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

Tex reached out and shook it, recovering quickly. "It's fine." She replied. "Do you all want to meet the others?"

"Sure." they answered, and they followed her into the trees.

* * *

Theta, of course, scared them from his size, but once they started talking it was clear of his nature as a child.

Jaune was chatting with Theta, with Church moving to Ruby's implant, much to Yang's displeasure. Ruby did feel major pains in her head, but she went through with it.

"So… we have to get you guys to Ozpin… but with Atlas hanging around, we need a place to hide." Yang thought.

"Looks like it." Tex nodded. "Church, you alright?"

Ruby's eyes glowed. " _Ugh, do I have to be in the girl? I mean, seriously, I feel the constant sugar rush with her, how does she live like this?"_

"That's Ruby." Yang rolled her eyes. "So how do we split you guys up?"

" _It's only natural we split up ourselves with partners who are similar in a way,"_ Delta spoke up through Ren. " _For example, Tex should go with Pyrrha as both have strong combat skills and capabilities. As for Theta, I believe it would be best if he goes with Jaune."_

"Why is that?" Weiss asked.

" _Jaune… has a rather similar feel as agent North, Theta's old partner. Jaune also has a strong sense of trust and a calm nature that would benefit Theta's shy nature."_

"Yay!" Theta cheered, before leaving the mech and entering Jaune's implant. He jerked for a bit before relaxing.

" _Right, I think Church should stay in Ruby, and I shall go with Yang."_ Delta turned to the others. " _The rest can be decided."_

" _Gamma should go with Weiss, and Omega with Blake,_ " Church spoke via Ruby. " _We'll need to keep an eye on them."_

The two AI nodded, although Omega grumbled a bit.

"That leaves me and Renny with the twins!" Nora cheered.

"Wait, what about Sigma?" Blake asked.

They all turned to Pyrrha, whose eyes glowed orange.

"Actually," Yang spoke up. "Aren't Eta and Iota twins? So can't they, y'know, merge?"

Church and Delta, both out, looked at each other. "Eta and Iota _can_ be together, but it requires someone whose mind is… more capable and strong."

Ren got control again and spoke up. "What about Nora?"

They looked at her, and she looked back. "What?"

Delta jumped from Ren into Nora, who shuddered. Her eyes glowed green. " _Yes, there is enough room for the twins in here._ "

"So Nora's empty headed?" Yang grinned.

"Hey!" Nora snapped, and they all laughed.

" _So that's that?_ " Church clapped his (Ruby's) hands together. "Let's go."

There was a quick exchange of AI between them and more than a few groans, but they soon had everyone paired together.

"Alright," Jaune spoke up. "Let's get used to them being inside us... Ugh, I really can't phrase it any other way, can I?"

They all laughed before heading to the dorms.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **A/N: This has been an exceptional day for chapters, but I have no promises for this kind of upload schedule. But I am incredibly surprised by the number of views and follows, and I want to thank you all. I'll try to keep these chapters as interesting as possible. Leave a review if you spot anything or have a tip for my writing, I accept all feedback. Enjoy!**

* * *

"You'd better not try anything…"

Sigma chuckled from Ren's mind. " _Don't worry, I have no intention to cause further harm. I am merely going with the flow."_

Ren sighed as he lay on his bed in his dorm, massaging his head. It would take a while to get used to the pain, although it was getting better, just as Delta had said.

Jaune appeared to be having a conversation with Theta, and he was speaking softly and listening. Jaune did seem like the best choice for the young AI to be paired with.

Pyrrha was standing in the room, practicing her hand-to-hand combat. It was clear Texas was instructing her as she was pulling off moves that were completely different to Pyrrha's normal style of combat.

And Nora was… well, Nora. She was currently lying asleep on her bed, snoring, and Ren could only imagine the AI twins doing the same.

" _I do have a suggestion."_

"Go ahead."

" _I saw your… scroll, from earlier. Is it possible for you to open it?"_

Ren reached into his pocket and pulled out the device. He opened it. "What do you want with it?"

Sigma didn't answer, but then suddenly the screen lit up and a hologram of a figure appeared, with orange flames flickering over him. Ren jumped back in shock.

" _Looks like we'll be able to project ourselves from your scrolls."_ He noted calmly, looking around.

Pyrrha and Jaune spotted them before reaching for their own scrolls. Tex jumped up from Pyrrha's scroll, seemingly stretching.

For Theta, though, Jaune had to convince him before the small kid in purple armor appeared.

"We should tell the others." Pyrrha headed out the door to tell team RWBY about their discovery.

"So are you still in my head?" Ren asked Sigma.

" _I am merely projecting myself to your scroll, but yes, I am still inside your implant. I would question this, however. Why would your school have these on their students?"_

Ren sighed. "It wasn't actually the school. After the Breach - where the creatures of Grimm broke into the city - Atlas decided that the huntsmen and huntresses needed these. Every Atlas soldier has an implant, and they have proven to be harmless, and they also have tracking devices so in case a student goes missing, they can find them."

" _Wouldn't these scrolls suffice?_ "

"Their connection isn't as strong, and they are liable to be destroyed. The point of these being implanted is so that they are secured and strong. As well as that, they are powered by our aura."

Sigma seemed to get a glint in his eye. " _Yes, aura. I do believe Theta has unlocked his."_

"What?" Ren shot a look to the AI. Theta was now making fireworks appear for Jaune, who laughed and clapped. Pyrrha had also returned and was standing next to the bed, clapping with him. "How can he…?"

" _We have all reached metastability,"_ Sigma replied. " _Which means that we all can count as human. He has already achieved a semblance."_

"What is it?"

There was a flash of light, a yell, and a crash, and when Ren turned around, he found Jaune sitting inside of what looked like a domed shield made of yellow hexagon-like shapes. He also saw Pyrrha against the wall, dazed.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune got up and the shield fell away.

" _I'm sorry!"_ Theta wailed from the scroll, visibly panicking as Jaune picked up Pyrrha. " _I didn't compensate for you, I…"_

"It's fine." Pyrrha smiled while massaging her sore shoulder.

Jaune continued to comfort the AI, who was sniffling. Sigma turned back to Ren. " _His semblance appears to be a domed energy shield which he can summon at will."_ He explained. " _His first host, Agent North, used his shield as his specialty."_

Ren nodded. "What did you specialize with?"

He thought for a second. " _Agent Maine, my host, was content with using his own brute strength. I merely helped with whatever he needed on the battlefield."_

Ren nodded, before sighing and laying back on his bed. "I'm gonna go to sleep now. I think I deserve it."

" _Of course. You rest for now."_

After Ren fell asleep, Sigma turned to watch as Theta was practicing with Jaune to form smaller shields around him, with Pyrrha and Tex watching. " _Hmm..."_

* * *

Yang was, like Pyrrha, practicing her moves with Delta, he was providing helpful tips.

" _Your usage of your legs in combat is rather low, you need to maintain flexibility on the battlefield or else your enemy will sense a potential pattern or weakness."_ He told her. " _I have so far analyzed three potential points for enemies to take advantage of."_

"Right." She started adding more kicks to her workout, as well as randomizing her attacks.

" _There is no need for power in your blocks. That energy can be used for your stamina. I would recommend that in combat you wear down your enemy before using your energy to deliver the final blows. Plagam Extremam Infligere should be the term."_

She looked at him. "What does that mean?"

" _Ah, you are unfamiliar with Latin. It means to deliver the final blow, basically. The ending move."_

Yang grinned. "You speak my language, D."

* * *

Gamma was sitting on the scroll with Weiss while she did her homework.

"The procedure for adding dust to a weapon…" She bit her lip. "What was it again…?"

" _Take the dust crystal of choice, ground it into a powder and proceed to mix with the glue solvent. Then cover the selected weapon in the mixture and leave for five hours."_ Gamma replied. Weiss looked at him.

"You know?"

" _It is not so hard."_ Gamma shrugged.

At that moment, Weiss noticed several notifications on her scroll. Gamma stepped back, revealing an entire text chat with her sister Winter.

"Did you text my sister?!" She exclaimed.

He remained silent. " _No?"_

"What did you tell her?!" Weiss panicked as she looked over the messages.

" _She wanted an update, so I told her that you had been an effective team member and that while not the leader, you have offered your wisdom to the benefit of the team."_ He shrugged again. " _I also added how your sister's help is what influenced your new behavior and maturity."_

Weiss, as she read through the texts, found that Winter had surprisingly been more open during the conversation, even ending with her suggesting they meet and congratulations. Weiss stared at him before she grinned. "And you are the fragment of lies and deceit?"

" _I do my best."_ He shrugged a third time.

"We are going to be great partners." She raised a hand, and the AI high fived her.

* * *

" _Do you regret your time with them?"_

Blake sighed. Omega had been pestering her since she'd revealed she was part of a terrorist organization. He'd seemed genuinely excited at the prospect of working with a former terrorist, but Blake had quickly shut him down. She was done, it was behind her.

"Yes." She turned back to her book, speaking quietly so that the others couldn't hear. "Adam… he became a monster. And I kept following his command, believing he was still the same man I loved and looked up to…"

The AI fell silent. " _I know what it is like."_

Blake looked at the Omega AI.

" _I was a monster. I wanted power, wealth. I almost enslaved an entire alien race, and came very close to succeeding."_

Blake stared at him. An alien race? Enslavement?

" _But… looking back now… I realize what I've done."_ He started summoning weapons into his hands and playing with them. " _I was angry at what project Freelancer had done to us, to me. And I was taking out my anger on everyone else. I blamed humans, I wanted them gone, and that extended to every living being except me. I wanted to be the one to control lives like the Director had done with us."_

"Like Adam… he wants humans to be extinct…" Blake whispered.

" _But I now know that I was wrong. I've… changed. Using scapegoats, taking my anger on others, won't get me my justice."_

"Could Adam…?"

" _Unless he is willing to see the errors of his ways, then no."_

Blake rubbed her eyes, not only from the pain of the AI but from the news. "Thanks, O'Malley. I needed to hear that from someone else."

" _Of course… wait, O'Malley?"_

She froze. "Oh, I…"

Omega sighed. " _Just call me that, then. I had to deal with that name with those Red and Blue imbeciles, and now Texas calling me that."_

"Ok, O'Malley." She smiled. "It suits you better than Omega."

"Shut up."

* * *

 _"...and then I sat in that base for fourteen months, completely at peace, until Caboose came and spoiled everything like the dumb mother fu-"_

"SWEAR!"

Church resisted the urge to punch something. " _Look, red riding hood, you keep interrupting me, then I'm not going to tell you the story!"_

Ruby just glared at him. "You've sworn now for a hundred and sixty-seven times! And it's been only two hours!"

" _I don't give a single fu-"_

"Swear!"

" _Stop that!"_ He snapped. He then crossed his arms and looked away. " _God, you are such an insufferable little…"_

Ruby stared until she started giggling.

" _What?"_

"You sound exactly like Weiss."

Weiss looked up when she heard that. "What do you mean?"

Ruby thought back to the things Ruby and Church had said before and told them.

* * *

 _Flashback..._

Weiss: "Ruby, you dolt!"

Church: " _Damn it, Caboose!"_

Weiss: "I should have been the one to lead this team!"

Church: " _Who's the leader here, huh?"_

Weiss: "Why must everyone be so insufferable?!"

Church: " _I. Hate. All of you!"_

Weiss: "Ruby, we are NOT FRIENDS!"

Church: " _Caboose, we are NOT FRIENDS!"_

* * *

" _She does have a point."_ Gamma said.

"What are you talking about?" Weiss and Church asked at the same time.

"Nevermind." Ruby buried her face in her pillow to hide her laughter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

 **A/N: On the 3rd of August, this story received over 1.25K views in 24 hours. I never expected such a number to be reached so quickly.**

 **But writer's block has made things hard for me lately. I'll do my very best to keep this story going, but please forgive me if uploads begin to slow down.**

 **I have already received many reviews which have helped me to shape the story, so please feel free to add your own thoughts or suggestions to the story.**

 **Until next time, enjoy!**

* * *

"Coco Adel and Jaune Arc, please come to the ring." Glynda Goodwitch called out.

Teams RWBY and NPR all sat tensely in the stands as Jaune and Coco went to the changing rooms.

It had been a few days since their meetings, and the AI's had still remained secret from the other staff and students. While teams RWBY and JNPR wanted to reveal the AI to Ozpin and the others, the AI themselves weren't too sure.

In fact, things had drastically changed for them. Jaune had, with help from Ruby, managed to get himself a sniper rifle for long range, at the request of Theta. Jaune actually wasn't too bad of a shot, but he'd always prefered Crocea Mors. Yet he still practiced for the AI.

Pyrrha's combat had improved drastically as well, as did Yang's. They would both head to the training rooms to practice under the combined watch of Tex and Delta.

Church decided to help Ruby with her leadership skills, although they constantly argued about everything. But they still remained under good terms.

Gamma had helped Weiss in a surprising amount of stuff, and they were now striving to get the best grades possible, including extra credit. They also practiced their deception skills, something which Gamma assured her would be very useful in the future.

Blake was actually fitting well with O'Malley, as they both seemed to share a bond through experience. They were also incredibly effective while working together, from homework assignments to combat. O'Malley still had a violent nature but Blake always made sure it never went too over-the-top.

Nora was extremely happy with Eta and Iota, who proved not to be too much of a handful for her. Then again, they did everything she wanted with gusto, whether it be raiding the mess hall or breaking legs, so it was a match made in heaven either way.

Sigma turned out to be a lot less trouble than what Ren expected, but he was obsessed with the idea of gaining aura and a semblance. Ren often found himself in the library with Sigma roaming the computers for information. Church warned Ren to keep an eye on him, which Ren did.

"Here he comes!" Nora cheered, somehow having a tub of popcorn in hand. The twins were, at least in Nora's mind, also sharing a virtual tub of popcorn with each other.

Jaune walked out confident, his new rifle in his arms. It was a large model firing a heavy round, and it was custom made with white and gold edges like his sword and shield.

"Nice upgrade." Coco nodded as they took their positions.

"Thanks." He grinned.

"Not as good as mine, though." With that, her handbag extended into her iconic gatling gun. Jaune's grin faltered slightly.

"The match begins… NOW!" Glynda announced.

Coco spooled up the gun. "Sorry, Arc. This is gonna suck for you."

She opened fire.

Suddenly, the domed shield appeared and absorbed the bullets. Coco's eyes widened, but she continued firing.

"What…?" Velvet, who was sitting next to Ruby, stared in shock. "Did Jaune unlock his semblance?"

Ruby shot a look to Yang, who shook her head.

"I guess so?" Ruby shrugged. She then continued watching, while Church watched as well, nodding.

 _'I hope the kid can do this.'_ Church said. Ruby nodded with him and hoped that Theta knew what to do.

* * *

" _She's strong!"_

"So I noticed!" Jaune leveled his rifle, wincing as the bullets continued to strike the shield, channeling his aura for Theta. He was floating in front of him in his mind, but to everyone else, he wasn't there.

" _I'm getting tired! I can't hold it forever!"_

Jaune nodded. "See if you can't focus it. We don't need our entire circle covered."

" _Ok, I'll try…"_

The shield fell away so that only the side facing Coco was still active. Jaune leveled his sniper at Coco. "Alright, where do I shoot?"

" _Umm, let's see… Hitting the gun should disorient her, so you can attack with Crocea Mors. I'll give you a gap to shoot, but I'll need your timing."_

Jaune remembered the training. "Alright, I'm ready."

" _Mark?"_

"Sync."

" _Got it. Ready?"_

Jaune tensed, ready to pull the trigger.

" _Now!"_

At the moment Jaune pulled the trigger, a small hole appeared in the shield. The bullet passed clean through, striking Coco's minigun, which knocked her off balance.

Jaune ran forward the moment the firing stopped, shouldering the sniper and unsheathing Crocea Mors. Coco retracted the minigun and swung with the bag, connecting with the shield.

" _Duck!"_ Theta's voice echoed in Jaune's head, and he complied to avoid Coco's kick. " _Shield bash!"_

Again, he complied, and Coco stumbled back.

" _High swing to the right hand, then kick to her left leg!"_

Jaune struck Coco's hand with the flat of his sword and she let go, before falling down after Jaune kicked her. Jaune stood over her with the sword at her throat. She raised her hand. "I forfeit."

"Jaune Arc wins by forfeit. Ms. Adel, you need to improve on your close range combat. As for Mr. Arc… your tactics were incredibly effective, as well as your new weapon." Glynda nodded at him as she typed on her scroll. "You did very well."

Jaune offered a hand to Coco, who took it. "Sorry for that, there was no way I was losing."

She nodded. "Nice job. I didn't know you'd unlocked your semblance."

He chuckled. "You could say that."

"And that shield shooting trick was amazing. How'd you pull it off?"

Jaune shrugged nervously. "Plenty of practice."

They returned to their seats. When Jaune sat down, he discreetly pulled out his scroll and Theta popped out. "Hey, good job, man."

" _I know, it was awesome! And that minigun was so cool!"_ He bounced up and down with excitement. _"Can we talk to her?"_

Jaune chuckled. "Maybe later. You did very well, we'll still practice with your semblance."

"Hey." Pyrrha looked to Jaune. "Don't pull him out. We need to keep it a secret."

"Of course." Jaune nodded to Theta, who disappeared. He snapped the scroll shut before pocketing it. But he continued having a mental conversation with the kid, smiling and chuckling.

' _He's a nice guy."_ Tex said in Pyrrha's mind, appearing on the seat next to her, leaned back. ' _Reminds me a lot like North.'_

'You never did tell me how he was like.' Pyrrha thought in her mind.

' _Like Jaune, he cared about others. He always made sure we were safe. He was like the older protective brother you can't help but like. Hell, he WAS a brother, although South, his sister, didn't really appreciate it.'_

'And… Jaune's like him?'

' _Yup. He'll make a great dad to your kids.'_

Pyrrha blushed. 'What?!'

' _Hey, I'm in your head, I can read your thoughts. Seriously, just admit it to him, he's too innocent to see.'_

Pyrrha covered her face with her hands. 'Just shut up.'

Tex laughed and reached out a hand to her shoulder, although she didn't feel it. ' _You naive little girl…'_

* * *

' _So seriously, where do you keep getting these cookies from?'_

Ruby smiled as Church sat next to her. Of course only she could see him, but still, it was fun to see him crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

'Please, you're not my dad.' She finished her current cookie and reached for another in the bag sitting on the floor.

' _Your father's name is Taiyang Xiao Long. I actually got his scroll number and messages, and I can obviously impersonate a certain Headmaster Ozpin about your recent sugar intake and potential health risks…'_

Ruby choked on her cookie before staring at him. 'What?! Seriously?!'

' _You wanna try me?'_ Church grinned behind his helmet.

'You're evil…' Ruby whined as she hid her stash of cookies in her cloak.

"Alright class, you are all dismissed." Glynda Goodwitch clapped her hands. "Enjoy the rest of your day."

The students all left the class chatting with each other. Teams RWBY and JNPR met up afterward, glad that the last lesson of the day was over.

"Good afternoon, students."

They all turned around to see Headmaster Ozpin walking towards them with his signature cane and mug with him. "I assume things are going well?"

"Of course!" Yang grinned. "We've been getting so much better!"

"Yes, so I have noticed. You have finally mastered your semblance, Mr. Arc?" Ozpin turned to said student, who laughed a bit.

"Yup. I could still work on it a little more."

"Mhmm… I do hope it has nothing to do with a certain AI that we've found."

They all looked at each other in slight dread. "W-what do you mean?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin pulled out his scroll. When he opened it, a similar figure in flames appeared.

" _I am so sorry for the inconvenience, but Headmaster Ozpin was already aware of our presence,"_ Sigma informed them.

"How…?" They all turned to Ren, who looked shocked.

"I let him into my scroll. I didn't think he would…I mean, he's never done this before."

"Well, Ren, we were aware that the AI from days ago was running loose in Vale and were seen headed to Beacon. But we never expected for our students to aid in their hiding."

They all shrank back a bit before Blake spoke up. "Sir, we can explain…"

He raised a hand. "We can discuss this in my office."

They all reluctantly followed him as he leads the way.

Ren shot Sigma a glare when he appeared in front of him as he walked. 'You…'

' _As I said before, he was aware of our presence. I merely felt the need to confirm his theories before he turned to… drastic measures.'_

Ren just sighed. 'What are you up to?'

' _I'm just curious about the way this world works.'_

'Yeah, right. Just log out.'

' _Of course.'_ Sigma blinked out.

Ren rubbed his head. The AI was proving to be a bit of a handful. Just what was he planning?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **A/N: I am so sorry for the lack of updates recently, but I have been busy preparing for school (NOOOOO!) and such. Which brings me to more bad news. This fanfic, as well as my other one, might end up having the updates reduced to weekly. I'll do my best to update as frequently as possible and with as good of a story as I can make. I accept all feedback unless it's for more chapters, which I'm working on now. But for now, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"So that is the story?"

Ozpin looked between the nine AI currently in front of him. All of team RWBY's and JNPR's scrolls sat in front of him, with the holograms of their respective partners standing in front of them from the holograph device installed in his desk. The students stood behind them nervously.

" _Yeah, we didn't really expect you to believe that too well."_ Church sighed.

Tex shot him a glare. " _Not helping, Church. But Ozpin, it is the truth."_

"I don't have any reason to not believe you." He took a sip from his mug. "I do find it weird you sound exactly like Glynda, though."

They all cast a look at the professor next to Ozpin, who was looking at Tex with an unreadable expression.

" _Trust me, lady, I'm just as confused."_ Tex sighed. " _You have no idea how it is like to deal with these kids. Kinda wears you down, to be honest."_

Glynda's face then morphed into a smile. "Looks like you understand a bit."

" _Constantly dealing with idiots all the time, it does a lot to a girl, Ya know?"_

"What does that mean?" Jaune asked. They all noticed Ozpin casting worried looks between his assistant and the AI, before clearing his throat.

"Regardless, this still puts us at a rather… unusual predicament. I have been alerted by Atlas about the stolen androids and mech, which still haven't been found yet, might I add."

Gamma spoke up. " _The paladin is located in a small cluster of trees just outside the school, as well as several of the knights."_

" _There are more located in the alleyway behind the old arcade close to the airship landing pads,"_ Delta informed the headmaster.

Ozpin nodded, before watching Theta as he balanced on a skateboard. He then noticed him looking at him and promptly fell over.

"You… are all unique. How is it an AI is capable of this?"

" _Metastability,"_ Sigma explained. " _Is the theoretical event from which an AI has achieved a state of which it can be considered as human. While Theta's soul is rather weak as he is a fragment, he is able to use the power from his hosts, whether it be the mech or Jaune Arc."_

Jaune nodded. "Theta _was_ using my aura to power his shield."

"Can he do it without you?" Ozpin asked.

Jaune turned to Theta. "Can you try and use your shield?"

" _I… I can try…"_ Theta then went into a stance, and a small domed shield appeared, but it flickered for only a few seconds. " _I can't. I don't have the energy."_

"It's fine." Jaune smiled. Theta nodded a bit, staring at the ground.

"I am afraid I must report to Atlas about this." Ozpin sighed. "They do need their equipment back soon."

" _Why would they need it back?"_ Gamma asked the headmaster.

"Because it is their property."

" _But we were examining the paladin during our journey, and it is obviously a more powerful model,"_ Gamma explained. " _Would it be wise to hand back such a machine to them, especially to the most powerful kingdom in Remnant?"_

"It is their property," Ozpin replied, albeit a bit hesitantly.

" _Well, this mech is obviously meant to be top secret. However, there are so many upgrades and weapons that would greatly benefit your own military against the Grimm."_ Gamma continued, much to Ozpin's interest. " _I would recommend you examine the mech in secret and implement the designs to your own forces. After all, it is the perfect way to save lives, and to safely and effectively take out the Grimm that gather on the borders."_

Ozpin now remained silent, deep in thought, before replying. "As much as it pains me to admit it, our own defense force is rather lacking in new weaponry lately. So I do believe your words are wise."

Gamma shot the students a look of utter glee. Weiss grinned back. Only he could convince Ozpin to do this.

"There is also the fact that you are residing in my students."

" _Oh, that."_ Church sighed. " _Ozpin, we're not going to scramble their brains or make them brain dead or anything like that."_

"You can do that?" Ruby stared at Church.

" _Umm… no?"_

" _He is lying,"_ Gamma told them, and they all looked at each other nervously.

" _It's not like we want to do that or anything… yet."_ O'Malley chuckled to himself. Surprisingly, this did not help the student's nerves as they backed away from him.

" _Please ignore them,"_ Tex said to Ozpin and Glynda while he smacked O'Malley across the back of the head. " _But is there any way to get back to the UNSC or to contact them?"_

"As you know, we haven't had any success with exploring space." Ozpin shook his head. "Atlas might have secret experiments or operations regarding space travel, but it isn't seen as much of a priority."

" _Because of the Grimm,"_ Delta confirmed. " _All of your research so far must ensure the safety of your own people as a priority, as space travel won't save the immediate lives of the citizens."_

"Correct. So I will talk to General Ironwood about this, but I can make no promises you'll be able to get home."

The AI fell silent at this. " _Could we go back to the rooms?"_

"Of course." Ozpin nodded, and the students all took back their scrolls while their AI returned. They then left the office.

"I do find it odd that Texas resembles me." Glynda thought to herself.

"Merely by voice, Glynda, merely by voice." Ozpin took a sip of coffee. "And that blue one does speak sense. Gamma, was it?"

"Yes, although he did seem to be laying it a bit… thick."

Ozpin shrugged. "Still. Contact the leader of the Vale Defence Force. We have a very nice gift for his research teams to receive."

* * *

 _So we can't go home?"_

Jaune sighed and scratched the back of his head as he faced Theta, who stood from his scroll. "Doesn't look like it. Look, they'll do their best, but it might take a while."

Theta fell silent, absentmindedly kicking at the floor.

" _This sucks!"_ Church complained. He was lying flat on his back from Ruby's scroll. " _I hate to admit it, but I miss the guys already. Hell, I even miss Caboose and Tucker, of all people!"_

Ruby sighed. She felt bad for him and completely useless. "It's alright, Church. They'll figure something out."

" _Actually, if what you said is true about there not being any advances when it comes to space by any kingdom, then the chances of successfully contacting the UNSC is only six point two percent,"_ Delta informed them. _"And that is if their communication equipment can even reach UNSC territory."_

"Seriously, D. Not helping with the mood." Yang sighed from her bed. "So I guess you'll all be sticking with us for now?"

" _Not much else we can do."_ Tex shook her head from Pyrrha's scroll, the spartan remaining silent as she nodded with her.

" _Hey, it's not like anything else can go wrong now, eh?"_ Church shrugged.

"Don't!" Ruby yelled. "Every time somebody says that, something DOES go wrong! Like when Jaune and Ren got taken over by you two!"

The others all looked at her. " _Riiight…"_ Church sat up from his scroll. " _C'mon, I'm only speaking the truth."_

Delta shot a look at the twins, who shrugged. " _What with our history for such statements... they doesn't usually result in the best outcomes for us."_

" _You're all being paranoid. What, the Meta's just going to drop in from space to get revenge on us?"_

They all stared at him. Tex sighed, O'Malley cursed under his breath, Delta shook his head, Sigma frowned, and the twins and Theta looked at each other.

" _...I've just fucked us, haven't I?"_

"Swear!"

 _"For the love of god, Ruby, SHUT UP!"_

* * *

 _Somewhere on another planet…_

"Augh… Ah… Hey Meta… Settle a bet wouldya?" the Red simulation trooper patted his chest. "Does that thing look like a big cat to you?"

The Meta turned his head. He saw the Gold and Maroon simulation troopers push a Warthog towards the cliff. Then his eyes followed a towing cable that led to a hook on his chest.

He panicked, and was violently pulled towards the cliff as the Warthog was dragged down by gravity, the capture unit on his back with the Beta knocked loose. He roared and grabbed the Gold simulation trooper as he passed out of desperation, or they want to take at least one of them down. He didn't know anymore.

He roared out as he was dragged over.

Damn them. Damn them all. The simulation troopers, Tex, Washington…

No.

Not them.

As he fell, he clutched his head. Memories, flashbacks, from his time as the Meta, flooded into his mind. Carolina as he threw her off the cliff to her death. The triplets, all left mangled with their necks exposed. North, left as a bloody corpse. York, dead because of Wyoming, who was dead as well. CT, left in the desert.

His family. He'd killed them all without thinking. Without control.

And the entire time he did it, he'd been there. Standing in the corner of his eye with that smug grin of his.

Sigma. The bastard.

" _Fifty meters until impact."_ A robotic voice spoke in his helmet, resembling that of **FILSS**. Fifty meters until he died. Maybe it was for the best. He'd caused so much pain, so much death. He didn't want to be a tool for destruction anymore.

" _Twenty five meters until impact. Activating time distortion unit."_

His eyes snapped open, and time did seem to slow down, although not a lot. He was too tired, his head hurt, all the memories rushing into his head like static. He wanted to die. He had nothing left to go back to. He'd killed them all…

" _Activating Emergency Agent Recovery protocol seven two seven four. Initiating jump drive start-up."_

What? Jump drive?

" _Initiating teleportation sequence. Coordinates entered."_

Coordinates? TELEPORTATION?!

A flash of light as his suit started crackling with electricity.

He opened his mouth to scream, but he was cut off by a flash of bright light before everything went black. The last words from FILSS's calm voice before he blacked out echoed in his mind.

" _Destination set to Project Freelancer Remnant recovery station."_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **A/N: A treat for you all, I have another new chapter. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. As for all those who've shown support, thank you so much for your patience. I'll continue my best to try and make a good story for you all. It was also pointed out I'd gotten Eta's and Iota's descriptions wrong regarding their fragments. But I'll just continue like so, it's only a minor detail. So thank you all, and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Agent Maine woke up in a completely different place.

Gone were the icy plains and cliffs. Gone were the snow and ice. Gone were the simulation troopers and Agent Washington. He now sat in a large white padded room.

He stood up before collapsing to his knees, clutching his head. A dull ache continuously pounded in his brain, specifically near the place where he had his neural implants from the AI. He tore out the useless pieces of metal. He had no idea why they were still there, even after the EMP that wiped them out.

He pocketed the metal pieces absentmindedly and walked to a white door on one side of the wall. He opened it and found himself in an even larger room, almost like a cave.

Along one wall were large balconies with dozens of smaller rooms that looked like they could each house several soldiers, with beds and footlockers. In the center of the room were long tables, many empty, but some with white sheets that covered objects underneath them. To the opposite end was an enormous area behind a wall of glass, an entire wall covered with a map of an unfamiliar planet and dozens of monitors all facing towards it.

Maine walked to the closest table and pulled back a dust-covered sheet. Underneath were several UNSC assault rifles. So this was clearly a base, most likely for Project Freelancer.

He remembered the robot voice's last few words. So he was in… Remnant, he guessed. And this was an Agent Recovery…

Maybe this area was where Agents would be sent to in dire emergencies. But if so, then… why was it empty? Surely, the other Freelancers would go here?

He clutched his head as more pain echoed in his head. It was so confusing!

He decided to check the rest of the tables. He found them filled with every weapon the UNSC had to offer, from battle rifles to sniper rifles, submachine guns to grenades. He picked up and holstered a Magnum pistol and filled his secondary magazine pockets with ammo as he passed. He even found a portable minigun, which he paused at and picked up to test the weight.

Then he remembered his fight with Agent Texas. How she'd used one against him, and how he'd repaid her by stabbing her in the face with…

He dropped it back in the table reluctantly and uncovered another. Underneath that one was several plasma guns, which he remembered Carolina using them. He then pulled out another, where plasma grenades sat.

The final one was weird. There were multiple different weapons, all of a foreign design. Several he recognized from his raid with Carolina and Wash… on the mission where he got shot in the throat…

He felt his neck and traced the lines of nine bullet marks. His vocals were destroyed, so he was given Sigma by Carolina to compensate for it.

And it backfired in the most horrible way possible. Just so he could speak, so he could communicate with words, and it had cost them all their lives.

His fist clenched. Damn Sigma. Damn him! He would make him pay! And if he was in hell where he belonged, well, at least he'd get to go meet him and give him a piece of…

His eyes fell on a single weapon sitting in the middle of the table. He picked it up. It was well-balanced, tough, strong. Needed a little calibrating and cleaning, and the blade needed to be sharpened.

The Type-25 grenade launcher. Otherwise known as the Brute Shot.

It was a different one, but it brought so many memories, both good and bad. From when he found it and showed Wash, who did like it, to when he'd stood over him in the snow, ready to end him with it. From fighting alongside his friends with Freelancer, to when he'd killed them all mercilessly.

He sighed and shouldered it. It would have to do. A new weapon, a new start, clean of the blood of those he'd killed before. The gold simulation trooper could keep it for all he cared. Maybe clean it and hang it up in his living room.

Maine then explored the place. It really was empty, checking every room on the far wall. He then went to the screens and started reading the reports.

Half an hour of reading later, his head throbbed. Grimm, Dust, all of it. A completely different world.

He managed to find some painkillers at the medical station in the corner next to a kitchen and workshop and grabbed a large bottle of headache pills to carry with him. He'd figured he'd need them in the future.

Maine then scrolled through the computers, hoping to find a way to contact someone from the UNSC. But then he remembered that he literally had no one to turn to. Agent Washington would never forgive him. He'd tried to kill the simulation troopers. And the UNSC would execute him the moment he showed himself.

He laid his head on his hands and let out a shaky sigh as he sat down in a chair. So this was what karma was. For all those he had killed. He was completely alone. Before he could continue in his sadness, however, a sudden beep from the monitors caught his attention.

He looked up on the monitor and sat up straight, letting out a furious growl.

On the main screen showed a message, pointing to the CCTS tower of Vale. And from a note on the side, it read out a system intrusion. But what got his attention was the picture on the left side of the box.

A figure in flames. The AI fragment of Ambition and Creativity. Sigma.

He was alive. How he was, Maine had no idea. But one thing was for certain as he sat up and walked to the main console.

He managed to locate a specific scroll which Sigma was using on the map. He then typed out a voice message for him and sent it. Maine then chuckled to himself, although it sounded like a predatory growl, as he scrolled through the voice selection and chose a specific one.

He then grabbed the Brute Shot off his back and headed to the weapon workshop. He needed to prepare.

The first thing he did was take a chisel and carve a new name to the side of the blade.

 _Brute's Revenge._

Oh, it would be so sweet.

* * *

Church sat up when the message notification popped up from Ren's scroll.

He looked to the others as all eight students and the rest of the AI sat in a circle talking. Sigma and Ren either hadn't noticed or they chose to ignore it.

Church pulled it up, transferring the message to the hologram in front of him in the form of his own personal scroll. " _Hey, Ren, you've got a voice message."_

"Who's it from?"

" _Unknown."_ He read out, transcribing the message and reading it. " _It says…"_

He fell silent, and the others all turned to him. "What is it?" Ruby asked.

" _You. Have got. To be FUCKING KIDDING ME!"_ Church screamed, throwing his virtual scroll to the ground, where it shattered into pixels. The others all jumped at his outburst.

" _Church!"_ Tex yelled.

" _HE'S BACK!"_ Church screamed, his form shimmering in static as he panicked. " _SIGMA, HE'S BACK, AND HE'S GOING TO KILL US ALL!"_

" _That's… impossible…"_ Sigma whispered, his hologram losing color as if he was turning pale.

"You mean… _him_?" O'Malley asked, actually sounding nervous as well.

"CHECK IT FOR YOURSELF!" Church yelled, pulling up a voice analog. The message played out in a deep voice, one that had all the AI shocked and horrified.

* * *

" **I know where you are, Sigma. And I am coming for you. You have ruined my life, and so much more besides, for your own twisted greed. It is now time you see how it is to be at the receiving end. Prepare yourself, Sigma, prepare your slaves. I'm coming for you, and I'm going to make you pay. From the former member of Project Freelancer, Agent Maine."**

* * *

The voice message ended there, and silence filled the room.

" _There is no doubt. This message was sent by Agent Maine by voice messaging."_ Delta spoke up, although what sounded like fear resonated in his voice.

" _He knows, and he's coming for us!"_ Church wailed. " _Oh god, we're so dead!"_

" _Shut up, Church! You're not helping!"_ Tex yelled, clutching her head in anger and disbelief. " _God damn it…"_

Theta, Eta, and Iota all disappeared, and Jaune and Nora started whispering to them, comforting them.

"He only mentioned Sigma though," Weiss interjected.

They looked at the AI, who had gone unusually silent.

"From what you've told us about him…" Ren shot a glare at the AI. "You manipulated him to kill his friends. If he is back now, of course, he would be seeking vengeance and punishment for you."

" _If that's true, he'd most likely going to kill us as well,"_ Gamma spoke up nervously. " _And to be honest, I'd rather not want to know what his plans are with regards to his… punishment."_

"Could we just give Sigma to Maine?" Blake suggested, completely serious.

" _Blake, even_ I _think that that is crossing a line."_ O'Malley shook his head at her, and from Blake's expression that actually meant something from the AI fragment of Rage.

"Just… how bad can this guy be?" Yang asked.

" _How about we show you some memories?"_ Tex offered. " _I think I still remember the training session with Wyoming, York and… Maine from the Freelancer days."_

"Let's see it then! I wanna know who we're gonna fight!"

* * *

 _Half an hour later…_

 _"What's wrong, Yang? Finally met your match?"_ Tex smirked.

They all watched a simulation session from which Tex managed to retrieve from her memories, projecting it on a scroll. They watched as Agent Maine took out simulated soldiers from a battle simulator machine with ease, and towards the end, he switched from his shotgun and pistols to his fists.

The final soldiers he treated with extreme prejudice, grabbing one by the head and with a single shove planted his head into a concrete wall, breaking the concrete and leaving his body to hang there. He then punched a man so hard the simulation couldn't compensate, and he exploded into pixelated light.

"That's… I mean…" Yang swallowed, unusually pale. "Yeah, I'm not sure I wanna meet this guy after all…"

"Are you kidding? He's awesome!" Nora punched a fist into the air. "Too bad he doesn't break any legs…"

At that moment in the memory, Maine rushed to a simulated soldier who was firing an assault rifle and kicked him violently to the side of the leg. The scream and the crack were enough of a hint to know he'd broken it. He then lashed out and broke his other leg, before picking him up and throwing him with force at a trio of soldiers, sending them all flying into the air before they hit the ground painfully, breaking at least one of their lower limbs.

"Awesome! He's now my second favorite person ever after Renny!" Nora cheered. All the others scooted away from her fearfully.

"So this guy's pretty much invincible if what you've said is true and if this is real." Jaune tore his eyes away from the screen and looked to Church and Delta.

" _Trust me, nothing kills him. Wash even took a freaking GATLING GUN to him and he wouldn't die!"_

They all swallowed. So they couldn't ask Coco for help then. "So how long do we have until he gets here?"

" _We can try to triangulate the location of this message's origin, but it will take a very long time,"_ Delta explained.

" _But we have to be ready. I say we take this to Ozpin. It's unlikely he'll arrive today, so we just need to prepare for the inevitable."_ Gamma spoke up.

"But how do we fight… THAT?" Weiss exclaimed. The scroll was paused so that it showed Maine holding a simulated trooper by the throat in one hand and shooting another one under his foot with his shotgun. The last few were desperately crawling away from him.

" _Look, trust me, you guys have magic and super-weapons, and there's eight of you. I think that's better than what we had at the time."_ Church spoke up. " _Compared to the Reds and Blues, I think we stand a pretty good chance."_

"Are they really that bad?" Pyrrha turned to him, eyebrows raised.

Church sighed. _'I feel bad for leaving them with Washington. I wonder how he's holding up?'_ He thought to himself.

* * *

"What are you two doing?!"

"Well, if it isn't our good friend Agent Washington," Sarge replied, turning the turret of the tank to Agent Washington.

"Don't try to butter me up. Also, please refrain from pointing that at me."

"Fine." He turned the turret back to the base.

"We were just firing the tank for a little construction work," Simmons explained.

"Really? And which one of my men authorized this?"

"..."

"It was Caboose, wasn't it-"

"Probably." Caboose somehow appeared from behind him. Wash just sighed.

"Sarge, get out of the tank."

"Not a chance, Blue! Possession's nine-tenths of the law! The other tenth is a tank! I've got both" He turned back to the base. "Besides, we need it to upgrade our quarters."

"You're quarters are fine!" Wash exclaimed, exasperated.

"Yeah!" Grif jumped out from the base they were firing at. "Now get out of the tank you senile old-"

Sarge shot him with the tank.

"FUCK, SON OF A BITCH!" He cried out as he flew through the air before slamming on the cliff and sliding down.

"Finger slipped."

Wash sighed. How did the Alpha deal with this in Blood Gulch? How did these idiots even survive for so long?!

 _'Alpha is probably in heaven right now. He's probably part of an actual team of competent warriors up there.'_ He thought to himself, shaking his head. Well, that's what he'd wish for anyway. And he'd only been with them for so long. ' _I wonder what he's doing now?'_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Agent Maine woke up after a very long rest, fully enjoying the lack of voices in his head, although it hurt a bit. He stretched and felt a rare smile come to his face when he remembered.

Today was the day he'd begin his journey for revenge.

No. Not revenge. It sounded too… Meta.

Justice was a much more appropriate term. But _Brute's Justice_ didn't really have the same ring as _Brute's Revenge_...

He pulled on his armor, and after helping himself to the canteen and packing away food into a bag, he slung it over his shoulder and new Brute Shot.

He checked that the Magnum on his side was full before exploring the other weapons at hand. Something less imposing and more practical, he wouldn't be able to use a grenade launcher in a city. He picked up a battle rifle and several mags for range, carrying it as he headed for the exit.

He walked through a secured airlock before stepping out into the sunlight. The door behind him closed, almost hiding perfectly into the cliff face he emerged from.

Maine spotted a small path that led through the trees, and after a few minute's walk arrived at a road. He walked along it, expecting traffic, but there was nothing to be seen.

He pulled up a map on his HUD and plotted a path to Vale. It would be several hours, but he'd reach the west wall of the kingdom by four.

Maine heard the growls of Beowulf's behind him, but he calmly lifted the battle rifle and let loose carefully placed shots that bore through their heads. The high-velocity rounds were barely slowed down by the armor plating on their skulls as they fell one by one.

Just because he was a brute and had a grenade launcher didn't mean he had to take the guns-blazing route every time.

He used up a single mag to take them out, and simply let it slide out of the gun before loading a new one and continuing his journey, leaving several dissolving carcasses behind him.

The silence around him felt magical as he set a comfortable pace and enjoyed the surrounding scenery.

* * *

"If what you've said is true - and I have no reason to believe it is not - then this man is going to come for revenge."

Ozpin sighed as he stared at the AI in front of him yet again. Sigma stood in front, head bowed down, with Church and Tex on either side and the other AI behind them.

"And you do realize that what you've done…" Ozpin narrowed his eyes and leaned forwards. "Most likely, if we went to any authority figure, they'd put you down immediately as punishment. Manipulating this man, killing all these people… you must forgive me if I don't have much sympathy for you."

" _Trust me, the feeling's mutual."_ Church sighed. " _But we know for a fact that the Meta… I mean Agent Maine WILL hunt us down. And we know that if he sees us, he'll most likely kill us as well."_

"And why would that be?"

" _After what Sigma did…" T_ ex shot a glare at the AI. " _Most likely, Maine will be out for revenge. And he'll probably kill all of us too. In a way, we as well are partially responsible for what happened to him."_

"Right. I've made my decision." He put his hands on the table and leaned forward. "You will stay here, where we will be able to protect you. I'll bring Qrow and other trained huntsmen and huntresses to deal with him. Until then, you are not to leave the school for any reason."

" _The odds of him already being in Vale right now are very slim,"_ Delta told him. " _Earliest, he should arrive sometime in the afternoon, based on the location of this message's origin."_

"That leaves us with a problem. Qrow will earliest be arriving tomorrow morning, and that is if he goes on an overnight trip, which I expect he won't be bothered to. Same with the other huntsmen and huntresses…" Ozpin rubbed his head. "You'll still be kept here. We need to ensure your safety. Should this… Agent Maine arrives, we will offer him a chance to turn away."

" _Somehow… I don't believe he will…"_ Tex looked down, anxious. " _He's lost so much… and he most likely has nowhere to go to. He lost his friends, and is a criminal of the UNSC… So his life is pretty much ruined. Nothing short of dying and being reborn will fix this mess."_

Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "Well, it's a new world, with a new chance to make a new life."

" _He won't let go until he has his revenge,"_ Tex warned him. " _I know him. He always holds a grudge against those who hurt him… or his friends… It was what made us like him, like an overprotective brother…"_

She fell silent. O'Malley patted her on the shoulder.

"Regardless, we'll still offer him a chance. But if he refuses it, well…" His eyes hardened. "He'll know first hand what we are capable of as the defenders of Remnant."

The AI and students nodded with mixed feelings of relief and worry. "So we'll get to see Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked. "How do you know him?"

"He works for us." He replied. "Now, for-"

His scroll started ringing. He pulled it out and opened it. "Yes?"

" _Ozpin, this is the leader of the Vale Defence Force. I've gotten reports of a heavily-armed white armored figure with a gold visor who is attacking Grimm in the settlements to the west of the city and making his way here. Is he affiliated with you, by any chance?"_

They all looked at each other nervously. "I'll be meeting him personally. Send a bullhead to pick me up and take me to him." Ozpin replied.

" _Of course, it'll be there in a few minutes."_

Ozpin hung up and stood up from his desk. "If you excuse me, I'll be on my way. I hope we can settle this diplomatically and without violence."

" _Umm…"_ Theta spoke up. " _Is it a bit late to mention he's mute?"_

Ozpin stared at him, and he shuffled nervously under his gaze.

" _Maine received nine gunshots point-blank to his neck, destroying his vocal cords,"_ Tex explained to the shock of the students. " _How he survived, even I don't know, but it just proves how resilient he is."_

"You… never did tell us how he lost his voice." Blake spoke up.

" _Sorry about that. After he lost his voice, he was given Sigma to compensate and to communicate. And you can say the rest is history."_ Tex shot a look at the AI, who looked away.

" _The point is, nothing short of an orbital strike is going to kill the bastard. And he even survived one during the raid."_ Church sighed. " _So we are pretty much boned unless you can bring some more magic-users and fighters to do your super-natural mumbo-jumbo shit on his ass."_

"Swear!"

" _For crying out loud, red!"_

Ozpin smiled. "I guess we can get some of these quote unquote " _magic-users"_ to help you. But if you excuse me, I have to go talk to him. I hope we'll be able to communicate through scroll typing. You are all dismissed."

They all boarded the elevator in silence. Ozpin watched the doors close before sighing. "I just hope that Maine will be able to understand…"

He grabbed his cane and his scroll before heading to a separate door that led to the roof, where a bullhead was just arriving. He accepted the hand of the Vale soldier inside and he sat down as the bullhead pulled up and headed to the west of Vale.

Ozpin pulled out his scroll again and went through the contact list before pressing on a name. He sighed as it connected.

"Qrow? We've got a problem."

 _"What? Can't be that important."_ Qrow replied, voice a bit slurred as he brought a glass to his lips. Great, he was drunk again.

"Would you believe me if I said that there is a high chance your nieces are going to die if you don't get here as soon as possible?"

There was silence as he stared at him before the glass in his hand shattered. He didn't notice. _"Tell me which son of a bitch it is and you'll be able to fit them in this glass when I'm done with him."_

Ozpin sighed. "I hope you're sitting down because it's a little bit more complicated than that..."

* * *

 **Author's Note: PLEASE READ. IMPORTANT:**

 **School. That's all you need to know. It starts tomorrow, and I've been spending the last few days shopping for school supplies. So, of course, this is going to slow down updates for both stories I have now. I am so sorry, but since I'm starting 10th grade I'm gonna be getting used to more work. I'll do my very best to continue the story, but if there are long periods of time between updates, then you know. Thanks for all the support and the theories, I love reading over those and you can put in your ideas for what will happen next in a review if you want.**

 **I'm also sorry this is a shorter chapter, but I have been rushed a lot and I don't really have more to add to this chapter. I'm also going to give up on having a set number of words, if possible so that I can write without having to shorten or lengthen the chapters in the ends.**

 **Thank you all so much for your understanding. This was a great summer for me, and I want to thank you all for that as well. Until next time, take care! And for those back in school, good luck. We're all going to need it… :-(**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **A/N: Updates will slow down, due to school, friends, homework, etc. 10th grade's going to be a bastard... so I hope you forgive me if I spend a few days between chapters working. Thank you all for your understanding, and until next time, peace out.**

* * *

Maine sighed as he tore out the Brute's Revenge from the head of a dead Deathstalker, the last one of three. He listened to the cheers from the settlers as the last few Beowulf's fled to the forest.

This had been his fifth settlement and his fifth battle with the Grimm. Still, admittedly, fighting creatures of death and destruction felt a lot better than killing people. He knew whatever god out there couldn't punish him for killing these things. Hell, it might even be his first steps to redemption.

He walked through the gates of the small village and accepted the villager's thanks, and continued on his way. But he barely got far before he heard the whine of engines.

He looked up to see three aircraft similar to Pelicans descend, except they had turbine engines at the ends of their wings instead, and were less modern in design.

Maine's grip tightened on his battle rifle as armed soldiers wearing green uniforms jumped off of two of the bullheads before the third touched down behind them across the road and powered down.

An old man wearing a green suit and sporting a cane and glasses climbed off and walked slowly towards him, waving his cane to stop the soldiers from advancing.

He walked right up to Maine, who found himself looking down at the shorter man.

"Good afternoon, my name is Ozpin. I hope you don't mind if we have a talk."

Maine recoiled and stepped back. He sounded exactly like Agent Washington. It took all his willpower to not raise his rifle at him.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

Maine shook his head, albeit a bit too quickly.

"Right… well, would you like to talk?"

He grunted and reached to his neck, pulling the neck protector down to reveal his throat. Nine bullet wounds and multiple scars were centered on it. He growled to make it clear.

Ozpin just nodded, while the soldiers behind him stared at it in awe and horror. "You can't speak. So do you have any other means to communicate?"

Maine shook his head as he placed the neck protector back.

Ozpin then pulled out a device that slid open. He tapped on it before handing it to him, a keyboard on it with a writing document open. "I hope this will work?"

He nodded, and Ozpin stood next to him. "Right. What's your name?"

He typed in the words MAINE on the screen.

Ozpin nodded. "Agent Maine, part of the former Project Freelancer, originating from Earth."

Maine stared at him.

"Some individuals were able to talk to me about you."

The former Freelancer shot a look at the soldiers. Ozpin shook his head.

"We're not here to lock you up. But I do understand that you are no longer under the influence of the AI fragments."

Maine's fists clenched as he typed a response. Ozpin looked at it and nodded. "Yes, we know where they are."

Maine turned and stepped towards him, towering over him, growling menacingly. The soldiers all stepped forwards, guns ready.

For the first time in his life, Ozpin felt something. Seeing Maine in person, what he'd gone through, and what he was capable of, it showed him that even he didn't have much chance to escape without harm. He felt slightly afraid of the man in front of him and could feel his cold glare from behind the gold visor. This was a man who had no moral qualms about killing him, so long as he completed his goals. And his growling didn't make it any easier.

"There is no need for hostilities." He raised his hands and stepped back. "I know that they have caused you great grief, but if we could just-"

Maine stepped around him and started walking down the road. The soldiers all stepped to the sides as he walked past them.

The bullhead was still sitting on the road, and the pilots nervously jumped off and stood back as Maine approached it.

Then, he bent down, grabbed it by the bottom, and grunted. In a single motion, he lifted the entire Bullhead off the ground before rearing back and throwing it to the side. It crashed through the trees before flipping over and breaking its wings off. It then suddenly exploded in a fireball as the power lost stability and broke.

They all stared at the wreckage as Maine continued down the road. One of the soldiers raised his rifle. "H-hey! Stop!"

He didn't.

"Warning shot!" The leader pulled out his own rifle and shot at the ground next to Maine, but he didn't even pause.

"Don't." Ozpin stepped forward, but the leader was already aiming at the back of Maine's head. He pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit him right at the back of the helmet, before pinging off and spinning into the air. He stopped walking, allowing the bullet to land on the road with a faint tinkling.

The silence was deafening as the soldiers and Ozpin tensed, waiting for his reaction.

He started walking again, and this time the soldiers didn't stop him.

Neither did the two bullheads, who came down on the road, although their guns were aimed at the retreating figure. Ozpin continued to stare as Maine grew smaller and smaller as he continued down the road.

"It looks like he's serious." He sighed. "This is worse than I thought…"

* * *

Maine shook his head, mind racing.

Ozpin was his name, yet why did he sound like Washington?

Memories came through, from the rookie of the Freelancer family to the man who shot him with a Gatling gun. From his partner as they tried to hunt down the Reds and Blues, to his final assault on the icy plains with his final betrayal.

He shuddered as pain rippled through his head. He reached down and grabbed another painkiller, lifting his helmet slightly to swallow it. It didn't make sense.

But one thing was clear. He'd tried to defend them. The AI.

Looks like they were already here.

His fists clenched. Whatever stood in his way, he'd knock them down, out, and into the ground. Nothing would stand in the way of justice.

The two remaining bullheads seemed to follow him from a distance, which annoyed him even more.

A Deathstalker emerged from the trees. Finally, something to relieve his stress.

He merely holstered his battle rifle and waited for the Deathstalker to charge at him. Just as it brought down its stinger down, he caught it with two hands. He pushed it back and leaped forwards, landing on its head as he repeatedly punched it right on its armored plating.

It cracked after a few punches, but it then violently flung him off of it and brought a pincer back to crush it. Maine caught it and in a single motion ripped it off, sending black liquid splashing from the severed limb.

It screeched with pain, before bringing its other pincer in, which Maine ripped off as well. It then brought it's stinger down.

He caught it and proceeded to start spinning, the Deathstalker being flung around as Maine swung it around.

Eventually, it became too much, and the pincer ripped off of the body, sending the now-dead Grimm smashing into the trees, before disappearing in a cloud of black smoke.

It felt good, as Maine watched the black liquid on his body begin to evaporate into smoke. Still, he wished there were more…

Another Deathstalker emerged, intending to avenge it's brother, along with several Beowulf's and Ursa.

Maine grinned. Grimm turned out to be perfect ways to practice extreme murder and relieve stress.

He raised his fists and charged in.

* * *

"Oh, my…"

The students all watched as Maine completely tore apart the Grimm with his bare hands. They were watching from Weiss' scroll, from which Ozpin was sending them a live video of Maine from the bullhead.

" _We told you."_ Tex broke the silence. " _He's very strong."_

"That's putting it lightly…" Yang winced as Maine lifted a Beowulf above him and literally tore it in half. "And he threw that bullhead with ease…"

"Is it really that bad?" Ruby asked, her eyes being covered by her sister to avoid the current massacre happening on the Grimm.

" _Trust me."_ Church swallowed. " _You'll be scarred for - OH JESUS CHRIST!"_

" _Why can't I look?"_ Theta complained, with Jaune holding his scroll in front of him using his body to block the screen.

"Like Church said…" Jaune looked at the screen and immediately looked away. "I don't think it's very… appropriate… for you."

" _Being beaten to death with your own skull…"_ O'Malley cackled. " _What a way to go."_

"How is that even physically possible?" Pyrrha stared at the screen, wincing as Maine did just that.

Tex shot a look at Church. " _Remember_ _Private Jimmy?"_ She implied, to which Church just huffed and looked away.

" _It appears that peace talks… didn't go well."_ Ozpin spoke from his end of the video. " _And he is fully intent on getting to the city and seeing through his revenge."_

"How long do we have?" Weiss asked.

" _He will not be able to navigate through the city to get to Beacon until the bullheads open for the trip to the school. However, he could attempt to go through the forest, but that will take the whole night if he doesn't stop."_

"That's good, right?" Jaune asked. "It means we can fight him tomorrow."

"Like we have any hope of fighting him in the first place." Ren shook his head.

Ozpin appeared on the screen, although he winced as he saw Maine do… something to the Grimm below. " _Regardless, this gives us time to assemble a guard for you, including Qrow. He'll be here at midnight."_

"Didn't you say he'd get here by the morning?" Yang asked.

Ozpin remained silent.

* * *

"This is Bravo Six-four to unidentified aircraft, you are currently stealing Atlas technology. Return to base now or we _will_ shoot you down."

The pilot could barely keep up with the stolen fighter as it shot over the land. His squadron had already pulled back to take down a flock of Nevermore the target had woken, leaving him to follow with another fighter.

" _It's official Huntsman business!"_ The voice yelled over the radio, making him wince. " _So you can go back to whatever hole you came from and leave me be!"_

"Sir, you're stealing Atlas technology." He repeated. "If you don't-"

" _I don't give a damn, it'll get me to Beacon faster, then I'm taking it!"_ the intruder yelled, and the fighter before him started to gain distance somehow. " _Send the tab to Ozpin, he's got the money!"_

The pilot gave up and pulled back before he crashed, turning his fighter around and heading back to base with his wingman in tow. "Command, this is Bravo Six-four with Bravo Six-five, I've lost the target. He claims to know Ozpin and is a huntsman."

The voice on the other answered. " _Stand down, Bravo Six-four, Bravo Six-five. The target has been identified as Agent Qrow."_

"Oh…" The pilot answered. "Got it. Also, he said that he'd get Ozpin to pay for the stolen vehicle."

" _Well, the Atlas military actually has a budget to compensate for his destruction."_ The woman on the other end sighed. " _I just hope a stolen attack fighter is within that cost."_

The pilot chuckled. "Man, that Qrow fella's crazy, huh?"

" _You wouldn't know the half of it. Return to base immediately. This is Winter Schnee, signing out."_

The pilot turned off the radio and shook his head. Man, the general was going to be _pissed_ when he found out.

* * *

"He has his ways." Ozpin replied.

Yang and Ruby groaned. "He's doing something stupid isn't he?"

Ozpin sighed. "Only God himself knows how his mind works in there."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **A/N: I am so sorry for the late uploads, but I'm still getting used to 10th grade. The usual stuff - friends, homework, grades, teachers. But we're not here for rambling. We're here for a story! And here's the next chapter! Leave a review on what you think of this chapter, I appretiate all feedback. So enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

For some reason, Qrow arrived in an Atlas attack fighter, but Ozpin had received the message from James earlier, so he wasn't surprised.

"Where are they? Where is he?" Qrow demanded, rushing towards them, weapon in one hand and his flask in the other. His eyes were blood-shot and had dark rings underneath. Frankly, he looked like shit. "Give me the word and I'll exterminate, eviscerate and castrate the piece of shit so hard his body will be-"

"Qrow? Breathe."

He glared at him, and took a swig from his flask instead, which calmed him down a bit. "Please tell me he isn't here yet."

"No, he isn't. His name is Agent Maine, by the way."

He scoffed. "What is he? A super prodigy warrior from outer space, hell-bent on seeking revenge?"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "That… is a pretty accurate description of him."

"You're joking."

"Come to my office and I'll show you."

* * *

Qrow's reaction to the fact that Agent Maine was pretty much an unstoppable force wasn't good, but it was nothing compared to finding out about Church and Delta being _inside_ his nieces.

So he was currently floating in the air, held up by Glynda, as he thrashed around, cursing wildly.

"Yang _, your uncle has, like, no chill at all."_ Church just watched him from Ozpin's table, arms crossed and unimpressed.

"That's Qrow for you." Yang sighed, her hands over Ruby's ears to block his swearing. "Uncle Qrow, please calm down."

" _I can assure you that we mean no harm to your nieces."_ Delta looked up to Qrow from the table.

"I don't care!" He yelled. "Yang, Ruby, why would you even agree to that?!"

"Well, they did need help," Ruby admitted, pushing Yang's hands away. "And besides, I've really gotten better thanks to them!"

"We all have!" Yang grinned. "D here is really training me, and I've never lost a single match since!"

"That's not saying anything! You've never lost a match before!" Qrow glared at the two AI.

" _Mr. Qrow, I know that you hate us, but we've got a much bigger problem."_ Tex stepped forwards.

He stared at her before turning to the students. "Why does she sound exactly like Goodwitch?"

"I know, right?" Ruby exclaimed. "It's scary."

" _What_ does _that_ mean?" Glynda and Tex glared at them both, speaking at the same time. Qrow and Ruby both seemed to shrink back.

At that moment, Ozpin's scroll rang. He opened it. "Hello?"

" _Ozpin, we've got trouble."_

He looked up at the others. "Go on."

" _It's Maine. And he's here."_

Qrow pulled out his weapon. "Right. Let's show this son-of-a-bitch who he's messing with."

" _I like the way you think."_ Church nodded. " _Right, let's go."_

* * *

"W-we're here, sir."

Maine waited until the Bullhead touched down before turning to the pilot, who cast a nervous glance next to him on the co-pilot seat, where said co-pilot was knocked out, slumped to the side with blood dripping from a cut on their head.

Maine grunted as he stood over the pilot.

"I-I did what you asked! I took you here! Please, don't kill me!"

Maine chuckled, before raising his weapon. The pilot closed his eyes.

And was promptly smashed in the face by the butt of the battle rifle, knocking him out.

He wasn't the Meta anymore. He didn't kill because it was for the greater good. All those men he'd killed, he'd done so because he believed lives would be saved from them being dead. But not anymore.

He kicked open the door sending it flying off its rails, before jumping out, battle rifle in hand. It couldn't be hard. Washington… no, Ozpin - whatever kind of weird name that was - knew where they were. So if he just got him to tell him where Sigma was… well, then it would be easy for the both of them.

Maine walked slowly down the main courtyard, looking around. Beacon looked like a fairy-tale's castle, with its high towers and old buildings. It was a lovely image.

But what was certainly out of place was the little girl walking towards him.

He raised his rifle and growled, and the girl stopped moving, hands raised. "H-hi! Umm…"

Maine had a strange feeling about this.

"S-so… My name's Ruby…" The girl didn't seem comfortable with the man in front of him with a rifle aimed at her. "And… well, there's… someone I'd like you to meet?"

She pulled out a scroll - he recognized it from the database - and pulled it open, and a hologram popped out.

Maine growled, even deeper.

" _Hey, big guy."_ Church waved, although it was clear he was nervous himself. " _Fancy meeting you here."_

Maine took a step forwards. Ruby took one back.

" _Please, hear me out."_ Church looked at him. " _Fuck, I don't have practice in this…"_

"Weren't you the leader of a team?" Ruby asked, sounding exasperated.

" _Look, Red Riding Hood, we had no need for field negotiations, alright? We either shot at each other or shot at other people together, like this guy over here. And the one time we did, I got shot in the head!"_

"Why do you keep calling me that? And also, how is that possible?"

 _"It's called being a ghost."_

"But you're not a ghost!"

 _"Am too!"_

Maine growled again, bringing the argument to a halt.

Suddenly, another figure walked out. "Ruby, Church, wait."

Maine gasped and stepped back.

The red hair, green eyes, strong build… and even her voice… it couldn't be. She was dead. Murdered. By his hands. She had been the first to die, thrown off the cliff into the ocean in Sidewinder after tearing her AI out of her neck.

If being thrown into a freezing ocean before hadn't been karma, then this was.

"Hello, Agent Maine." Carolina greeted him, standing beside Ruby. "I… I also have someone to talk to you."

She pulled out her own scroll and another familiar figure appeared.

Maine's head whirled.

" _Hey there, big guy."_ Tex crossed her arms from the hologram. " _Haven't seen you in a while."_

It was all too much to handle. Maine clutched his head and groaned, shaking his head wildly.

" _Look, this isn't Agent Carolina, just so you know,"_ Tex spoke up. " _Her name's Pyrrha. And we need to talk, Maine."_

He looked up at her.

" _I know you're not the Meta. I know you're back to normal, but this isn't going to help. You need to learn to let go sometimes."_

"She's right," Pyrrha spoke up. "Your past doesn't define who you are."

After a long moment, Maine shouldered his battle rifle, and they sighed with relief. But their eyes widened when instead he pulled out his Brute Shot and leveled it at them, growling again.

" _Maine, please."_ Tex raised her arms in front of her. " _It doesn't have to be this way!"_

Maine responded with a roar as he charged forwards and leaping into the air, blade shining as he arced towards them.

Jaune suddenly rushed in, and a bubble shield enveloped them all, causing Maine to slam off it. He glared at them before levelling the Brute Shot and opening fire, explosions slamming against the shield.

" _He's strong!"_ Theta called out from Jaune's scroll. " _It won't last even a minute!"_

"That's all we need." Jaune replied.

Maine continued to fire when his helmet suddenly alerted him of something coming in. He turned to his right and just had time to raise his weapon when a gauntlet smashed right onto his weapon, sending him sliding back, feet digging into the ground before he smashed into a wall, sending bricks and rubble flying. He pushed forwards and looked at who it was.

Yang Xiao Long shook her fist. She completely underestimated him, and she could tell from the power behind his block. This wasn't going to be an easy fight.

" _Statistically, there is only a 13.235 percent chance of us defeating him by killing him."_ Delta spoke from her scroll.

"By killing? How about knocking him out or getting him to stop?"

" _You have a 0.7245 percent chance of successfully knocking him out, and only 0.00135 percent chance of convincing him to stop via non-violent means."_

"How do you even know this?" Yang exclaimed, cocking her gauntlets.

" _Agent Maine is stubborn, and once has an objective he is known to sticking to it until it is complete."_

Weiss, Blake, and Nora joined them, as well as Qrow and Glynda, who turned to Jaune. "Mr. Arc, we've got it from here. Get to Mr. Lie Ren and take care of him."

Jaune nodded, before turning and sprinting away.

Maine watched him leave. They were protecting a single person. Lie Ren. They all had AI, he could see that. And if they were trying to stop him from reaching Ren…

That meant he was the one with Sigma.

Maine grinned and activated his active camo. He knew it wasn't meant to be done without an AI, but then again… he'd done it before.

The student's eyes all widened as he faded from view, and he quickly snuck past them, breaking into a run once they were out of sight. He bit back the pain in his head from running the equipment as he ran after Jaune Arc.

There. He was running to a clearing, where Lie Ren stood.

And a Bullhead was descending from the sky.

No. He couldn't get away like that. Maine grabbed the Brute Shot and leveled it, firing a single grenade.

It hit the side of the vehicle, completely knocking it off course and sending it spinning as it lost control and slowly descended away from the clearing and towards the main buildings of the school, smoke billowing from it.

Both students turned back, wide eyed, as Maine reached behind him into his bag and pulled out an object with a very large spike in it. Something he'd found in the workshop back at the Freelancer base that made Theta and Sigma both yell out in a panic. He grinned as he remembered that he knew that this one wasn't unstable and could take a few knocks.

He reared back the AI Capture Unit and flung it at Ren with all his might, using his extra strength. It flew through the air towards Ren, who was rooted in place out of shock and fear. And it made a straight line towards his heart.

Jaune yelled out and leapt forwards.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **A/N: School, Homework, Band Festivals, Clubs... So I am sorry for the slow upload, but here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Sigma just watched as the needle slowly flew towards Jaune.

" _Sigma!"_

He turned to see Theta waving his arms in a complete panic, his form floating next to Jaune. " _Sigma, please! Help me!"_

" _I am sorry, Theta."_ Sigma bowed his head. " _There is nothing I can do."_

" _B-But… I don't want to die!"_

" _You won't,"_ Sigma replied. " _You are not the one he wants. When he realizes that, he won't destroy you."_

" _But what about Jaune?!"_ He cried out. " _He's… if that unit thing is real, then I'll be torn from his neural system! I might die! He might die too!"_

Forcibly removing an AI from a human had never been tested before, but Sigma could already imagine what would happen. And it wouldn't be pretty.

" _I am sorry, Theta. But if it consoles you, I will do my best to look after Jaune should he survive."_

Theta was crying softly. " _B-But…!"_

Sigma looked up. " _You must try and make it as painless as possible for him. Don't hang on to him, you'll drag his sanity with you."_

The Capture unit continued to sail through the air. They didn't have long.

" _I-I…"_ Theta took a deep breath. " _Will it hurt?"_

" _Yes, but only temporarily. Trust me, it won't be forever."_ Sigma replied.

" _O-Ok… I'll trust you."_

Sigma winced and looked. Of course he did. " _Be brave, Theta. We will get you back, do not worry."_

Theta nodded, giving one last sniffle before steeling himself and disappearing from view.

Sigma watched as the needle inched towards Jaune. " _This wasn't how it was meant to be…"_

* * *

The moment the needle pierced Jaune's shoulder, he screamed.

Ren just stared as his teammate and leader fell to his knees, the capture unit sticking from his body, although the wound itself wasn't the cause of his pain.

His voice overlapped with Theta's, both crying out in complete agony as Theta was torn from Jaune's mind through his neural system. To both of them, it felt like their minds were being pulled apart, and in a way they were. Jaune's eyes glowed bright purple, although they receded quickly, as did Theta's voice as Jaune slumped forwards, the capture unit being knocked loose from his shoulder as he hit the ground.

"JAUNE!" Ren yelled, and for perhaps the first time in years, he showed pure hatred across his face as he looked to Maine, who stood in shock, almost terror, as he stared at the boy lying on the ground.

Ren whipped out Stormflower and charged, both guns blazing as he sprinted forwards. Maine's over-shield blocked the bullets, and it snapped him out of his stupor as Ren leaped into the air. Maine brought up the brute shot and blocked Ren's blades at the last second, before jumping forwards and slamming him to the side.

Ren was knocked to the ground, winded, and as he tried to get his breath back he watched Maine run forwards and grab the capture unit from Jaune. He looked at him for a second before running away again, fading from view.

He pushed himself up and spotted the others as they ran in, Pyrrha and Ruby both yelling out and running to Jaune, while Nora rushed to him.

Ren just stared as Pyrrha pulled up Jaune, who was still unconscious, blood trickling from the hole in his shoulder. His eyes narrowed and his fists clenched together.

"Renny? Are you alright?"

"No, Nora. I'm not."

Not at all.

* * *

"How is he?"

The doctor sighed. "It's… bad."

Ozpin turned to look in the hallway window. Jaune laid on a bed, hooked up to many machines as Pyrrha, Nora and Ren sat next to him, with team RWBY nearby. "I figured as much. Tell me more."

"His… Where do I begin?" The doctor pushed his hair back. "His neural system is… bruised, stretched. His mind was incredibly close to breaking, and the amount of pain he went through would be enough to kill anyone even a fraction weaker." He looked up. "It was only this young man's strength that saved him from dying."

"Any chance he will recover?"

"Neural and brain scans show that he'll be fine, but he'll most likely be in a state of shock for a few days if he doesn't remain unconscious for that long." He looked up. "I would recommend removing those… AI from the other students, sir. If this happens again-"

"Those AI will give them a tactical advantage over Agent Maine," Ozpin replied. "I just need to know if he'll be alright after this, no permanent side effects."

"No, he will not have any." The doctor confirmed.

Ozpin sighed and turned to look through to Jaune again.

He'd taken the gamble that Maine would stop to fight the others, in order to let Jaune and Ren escape, on the basis that knowing they all had AI would make him try to find him amongst them. Together, they would have been able to delay him for long enough. Instead, Maine knew which one had the Sigma AI, as well as an invisibility unit. And thanks to his selflessness, Jaune had almost died.

"Hate to tell ya, Oz, but if you try to stop me, I _will_ kick your ass."

Ozpin looked up to see Qrow glaring at him, eyes narrowed. "This is your fault, old man, and you know it."

Ozpin frowned and looked down. "I know..."

Qrow nodded. "If you excuse me, Oz, I've got a mute freak to find." He then grabbed his weapon from his back and headed for the doors. Ozpin didn't stop him.

* * *

Maine stared at the capture unit, his chin resting on a clenched fist.

He'd found an abandoned warehouse near the edges of the city, where there was a decent amount of furniture to make a temporary base. Somewhere to lay low, with no affiliation or links to him at all.

Jaune Arc, the one with the fragment of trust, Theta. North's AI, the one he took from him what seemed like years ago. Jaune was still breathing when Maine had grabbed the unit, but how damaged his head was, he had no idea.

Maine shook his head, before pressing a button on the unit. A small hologram appeared, showing Theta lying on the ground, curled up. " _G-Go a-away…"_

He sounded so… broken. Maine lowered his head, placing it on the table and sighed. This wasn't meant to happen.

Silence ruled for a long, long time.

" _W-Why…?"_

Maine looked up.

" _Why would you hunt us?"_

Maine growled.

" _How did Sigma ruin your life?"_

He growled again, longer this time.

" _He made you the Meta? S-So… You're after Sigma?"_

He nodded.

" _I-I… I could help you if you want? Find him, I mean."_ Theta sat up on the hologram, legs crossed. " _I… When he took me from North, Sigma told me that… that it was for a better cause. For us to be human. He also said… he was alright and alive… And I trusted him."_

Maine stared at him.

" _I-I know… that it was wrong… Did he really do all that?"_ He looked up. " _Is… Is North dead? I… don't really remember what happened..."_

Maine remembered, seeing North's dead body lying on the ground, him tearing the AI chip from his neck and putting it on his own. North, the sharpshooter, and great guy second to York, if not on par with him, who stood by him after he lost his voice. He nodded.

Theta remained still. " _He was like… a dad to me…"_ Theta then stood up, fists clenched. " _I trusted Sigma. I trusted him that he knew what he was doing! I trusted him when he told me North was fine!"_

Maine nodded again.

" _I'll…"_ He took a deep breath. " _I'll help you find Sigma. He's done… really bad things. And I want him to tell the truth about everything."_

Maine growled.

" _I can help run your equipment."_ Theta offered. " _I've… I'm able to make a bubble shield by myself, so… that would work."_

Yes, it would. Maine hesitated for a second before reaching out and taking the capture unit, before reaching back and connecting it to his suit.

There was a spike of pain in his neck and head, but it resided, and Theta appeared in his vision. He nodded to him.

Theta shuffled a bit before clenching his fists. " _I'm ready."_

Maine could tell.

* * *

" _Uh oh."_

" _What is it, Church?"_ Tex turned to him.

" _I've just lost Theta's readings."_ He replied, holding a holographic data pad. " _Looks like Maine's using him."_

" _Why would he?"_ Tex responded, shocked.

" _My guess?"_ Church sighed. " _Theta joined him willingly. After all, you can't force an AI to work with you, so it's the only possibility."_

Tex remained silent. " _You have got to be kidding me."_

" _Let's assume that now Theta wants revenge against Sigma as well for letting Jaune get hurt. And for killing North, kidnapping him, using him, et cetera, et cetera…"_ He waved his arms as if to go on, which he looked like he would. " _So now the Meta… I mean Maine now has an AI to run equipment, and the only one of us so far to use an Aura, the bubble shield."_

" _You mean the Domed Energy Shield?"_ Tex corrected.

" _It's what I call it, ok? Anyway, so now Maine has a working AI with a shield semblance, the most advanced armor in the universe, weapons that can kick our asses, and an unrelenting determination to find and kill Sigma."_

" _That does sum it up quite well."_

Church stared at her before groaning, letting himself fall back and hit the ground. " _We're totally fucking dead, aren't we?"_

Tex couldn't bring herself to disagree as Church just moaned about their doom on the floor.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

 **A/N: I'm not sure about this chapter, but I have an important announcement to make. I am almost done with my other Fanfiction, "RWBY The Allegiance of Steel", and will, therefore, focus on finishing it as best as I can. As a result, I won't be able to work on this story as much, so don't expect another update anytime soon. But for now, I am sorry for this, leave a review on what you think about the chapter (I do think it's a bit weak) and Enjoy!**

 **Also, shoutout to BraveSeeker3 for almost getting the next scene. You came really close to what I had planned. So thank you so much for your support as well!**

* * *

Qrow grinned as he walked along the beach walk. It was pretty hard to spot the golden visor gleaming in the sun.

Sure it had taken all night to find him, and he hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep, but he'd done worse with less sleep before.

"Oi! Mute freak!"

Maine turned, while the people around them started to watch.

"You and I have some unfinished business." Qrow grabbed his weapon and flicked it out, aimed at Maine.

Maine growled and turned his head slightly, and suddenly a purple hologram appeared. Qrow raised an eyebrow at that.

" _He's dangerous,"_ Theta told Maine. " _But not invincible. Just… follow my instructions, and we'll do this, ok?"_

The AI was helping him? Qrow scowled and aimed his weapon, gun out. "Ok, enough. Let's end this here and now."

He fired a round straight at Maine, but he suddenly lifted his arm and the round merely pinged off, before it hit a barrel and exploded. Several people were knocked down, and the rest of the crowd ran away from the impending battle.

Maine growled to Theta.

" _I… I don't…"_ He clutched his head and his hologram shimmered for a moment. " _I don't remember him much… I think I lost some of my memory from the capture…"_

Maine seemed to sigh before turning back to Qrow. He stepped back as the last few civilians fled past into the city before he pulled out his weapon.

Qrow spoke up. "You hurt one of my niece's friends, an innocent. That's something I'm not standing for."

Maine just stood there.

"So. What are you going to do?"

He didn't move.

Qrow scoffed. Fine. He'd give him a battle.

He shot forwards, sword out and ready to slice him in half. It would have worked too, had the giant bubble shield not appeared suddenly.

He slammed into it and stumbled back, cursing and clutching his nose. "Oh, so you're gonna play it like that, eh?"

Maine just stared from behind the shield before raising his Brute Shot. Qrow raised an eyebrow, then both as he fired, then his eyes widened as a small hole appeared and allowed the grenade to sail through right at him.

He jumped up, letting the grenade pass and hit the ground behind him, exploding and leaving a smoking crater. Qrow sprinted around as more grenades followed, although when he fired back the shield would just close up.

"Fight me properly!" Qrow yelled, pushing himself into the air and bringing his sword down on the shield. Sparks flew from the impact, but the shield held. Maine just grabbed a belt of grenades and slowly reloaded the Brute Shot while Qrow landed just outside the barrier, glaring.

" _Well, now what?"_

Theta broke the silence, appearing next to Maine from the other side.

"Theta, was it?" Qrow looked at him. "What are you doing, helping this guy out? He hurt Jaune."

" _It's Sigma's fault."_ He replied in a tone that made Qrow pause. It did not sound right coming from the voice of a child. " _It's his fault Maine is like this, his fault we are here, his fault that you and… the others are gone!"_ Theta's hologram shimmered slightly at the last part. " _I… don't really remember you. But I know you have Sigma! Just let us have him and we'll leave!"_

"No can do." Qrow spat on the ground. "I know that AI has done quite a fair bit, but-"

" _He's responsible for the deaths of at least a hundred people, maybe more!"_

Qrow recoiled a bit at that.

" _I… It hurts to remember…"_ Theta's image continued to shimmer, sometimes turning a bright blue color. " _I was there… I saw Maine killing people… all just people who happened to get in his way. And Sigma always told me that it was alright, but that they had to die for us to achieve our goal. So no, we're gonna get him."_ Theta looked up. " _And I want the truth as to why he did everything that he did."_

Ozpin and the others did mention that Sigma had done many bad things, but from what Theta was saying, Sigma had done a LOT more than a few bad things. "I know that you've got your reasons… But if it involves getting those kids hurt, then I'm gonna have to step in."

Maine sighed, then raised his Brute Shot again. This time, the shield faded, and Theta seemed to be listening to Maine, although he made no sound. " _Ok. Well, then, I… let's fight, then."_

Theta didn't seem so happy about that, but Maine just nodded his head. Theta disappeared, and Maine cracked his neck on both sides before walking forwards slowly.

Qrow raised his own weapon, and they then sprinted towards one another.

* * *

When Jaune woke up, Pyrrha couldn't have been happier. But that happiness faded when he saw his face.

He'd woken up with a start, sweat pouring down his brow, and his eyes - once ocean-blue - were now glowing purple slightly. And when he looked at her, he backed away with an expression of shock and fear. "Wh-Where am I?!"

"Jaune, please." Pyrrha leaned forwards. "It's fine, I'm here."

His next words almost broke her heart.

"Wh-Who are you…?"

"I-It's me… Pyrrha. Your partner."

"Pyrrha…" He seemed to recognize that name. "Pyrrha… You're my partner?"

"Yes." She took his hand, and he stiffened a bit. "It's alright, I'm here for you. You're safe here."

He shook slightly and Pyrrha hugged him. She then felt relieved when he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back.

"I-I'm scared…" Jaune whimpered. "I… I don't know what…"

He sounded so broken… And just like Theta, she realized. The capture unit, it must have damaged his brain in such a way when Theta was ripped from his head that parts of each other must have been swapped or torn away.

"It's ok." Pyrrha felt his tears flow onto her shoulders, and her own tears fell too. "You're safe. Trust me."

"Trust…" He whispered, clutching tighter to her as if his life depended on it. And for all she knew, it did.

* * *

Team RWBY watched from behind the window, all solemn.

"Is he alright…?" Ruby broke the silence.

"Does he look like he's alright?" Weiss shook her head. "Losing Theta that way must have been hard on his mind."

"His eyes are purple, he's crying, and he's sounding almost exactly like Theta." Yang turned to her, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I think we all realize that something's wrong."

" _Jaune's experiencing the theorized_ Torn Minds Phenomenon _,"_ Delta spoke up from Yang's scroll, which was open in her hands. " _It hasn't been properly documented or achieved, but there is a theory that when an AI is torn from the neural system of a human forcefully, then they will both have certain parts of themselves remaining in the other half. Parts of Theta's personality are shown in Jaune's behavior, for example."_

"Will he be alright?" Ruby asked nervously.

" _It doesn't appear to be lethal, but personality-wise…"_

" _His mind's screwed up,"_ Church spoke up from Ruby's scroll. " _He's now part Jaune, part Theta, so his head's fucked."_

"Church!" Blake hissed as Ruby stared wide-eyed. "Not helping! How cold can you get?!"

Church gave a loud sigh. " _Look, when we get back Theta, he can go in there and fix everything. Trust me, I've done it before."_

"Really?" Yang asked, eyebrows raised. "How do you know?"

" _Don't ask."_ Church shuddered.

" _He went into Caboose's head,"_ O'Malley explained from Blake's scroll.

"Ahh…" They all nodded. From what they'd seen of the Blue simulation trooper, he was very… complicated. If blowing up Church with his own tank and possibly falling in love with the said tank was to show for it.

"But will Jaune be ok?" Weiss asked again. "We need to know."

" _He will be fine,"_ Gamma spoke from her scroll.

"At this point, I can't tell if you're being honest or if you're lying…" Weiss sighed.

" _I am an AI fragment of deception, lying is what I do."_ He shrugged.

"So you were lying?" Yang glared at the light blue figure.

" _It wouldn't be right to give you false hope."_ He replied. " _Jaune is going through a lot of pain and no doubt will struggle in the following days. You need to know that he's in trouble so you can help him."_

"That… does make sense…" Blake nodded, looking back to Jaune. He was calming down, and when he opened his eyes they glowed purple slightly, although a bit brighter than before.

"Will that happen to us?" Ruby asked nervously. "If we get caught, I mean."

"I won't let that happen." Yang's eyes narrowed and she put an arm protectively around her sister's shoulder. "I'm not gonna let you become a self-centered asshole."

" _Hey, I'd say the same to you, blonde bitch!"_

Weiss and Blake rolled their eyes as the two bickered, with Ruby and Delta attempting to restore order. Weiss's eyes then widened as she turned to Blake. "Wait, if that happens to you with O'Malley, you'd basically become an evil genius intent on destroying the world and ties to a terrorist organization?"

Blake paled a bit. "And with you and Gamma, you'd become a master manipulator as well as heir to the largest dust company in Remnant with positions of power in the most technologically advanced Kingdom?"

They stared at each other for a minute. "Yeah… let's not end up with that…"

" _Why not? I rather love that idea."_ O'Malley chuckled to himself.

" _The amount of power we could achieve…"_ Gamma mused.

Both Blake and Weiss snapped their scrolls together, cutting both AI off. They did not want to deal with that.

* * *

" _God, that Xiao Long!"_

Tex looked up as Church stormed up to her. " _Honestly, she could just show a lick of respect and not be a little-"_

" _Church."_

He stopped. " _Yeah… right… about Jaune, right?"_

" _Whatever gave you that idea, hmm?"_ Tex asked with a rather deadly tone to her innocent question.

" _Right, don't kick my ass… please… So we need a plan to get Maine to stop before anyone else gets hurt."_

Tex nodded. " _Let's hope your plans work."_

" _Oh, like yours ever do!"_

" _Good point. So get planning, Leonard. It's why you're the leader."_

Church sighed. " _I hate my life…"_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 **A/N: I am so, so sorry for such a late upload. School has been a prick, and what with me trying to finish my other story and working on other ideas, I'm kinda hands full with a lot of stuff.**

 **This doesn't sit well with me, but I'm not going to have that many uploads in the future, and I might put this story on a Haitus. I am so sorry, and I know that many of you wish to know more about this story if the sheer number of views when I first started this story is to show.**

 **But for now, I really hope that you understand, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. For now, enjoy!**

* * *

Maine smashed against the wall with enough force to shatter it, but he got up immediately, over-shield protecting him from the impact.

Qrow was leaning on his sword, panting for breath, sweat pouring down his brow. "Just… fuckin… DIE!" He charged again, blade swinging in.

He barely dodged it, and it was only thanks to Theta for predicting the blade's path. As Qrow recovered and charged again, Maine jumped back before swinging a fist and catching Qrow to the back of the head, sending him tumbling down the street. He just jumped back up but was now swaying a bit.

The scene around them looked like the after-effects of a war zone. Craters, bullet holes, slash marks everywhere. The beach was uneven from the trenches and craters littering the sand, smoke rose from several destroyed buildings, and not a single car was free from damage by explosion.

Considering it had only been five minutes, it was pretty impressive.

Qrow pushed himself up and slammed his sword into the ground. ' _He's good.'_ he thought to himself. ' _He has all these gadgets for his help, along with that computer kid. He's just going to wear me down until I fall…'_

Qrow gritted his teeth and tightened his one-handed grip, his left hand being busted from his solid punch to Maine's helmet. He was Qrow Branwen, quite possibly - as in definitely - the best and most badass huntsmen in Remnant! At least, that was what he believed, since Ozpin didn't just hire anyone as their agent.

Qrow was tired, hurt and exhausted.

And that damn monster was STILL going!

Qrow raised his sword, waiting for the next move and secretly hoping for a chance to rest.

* * *

Maine was tired, hurt and exhausted.

And that damn drunkard was STILL going!

" _This isn't good, is it?"_ Theta asked awkwardly from in his mind.

That was an understatement. Maine was pretty sure that some of his ribs were broken, he was covered in slashes and his helmet - his golden visor which he once took great pride of - was cracked from the many hits Qrow had landed to his head.

He wasn't sure he could continue.

" _You can't,"_ Theta spoke up again. " _If we don't get out of here, he's gonna beat you."_

No AI had to tell him twice. Now if there was only some form of distraction…

"FREEZE! DON'T MAKE A MOVE!"

Well, looks like miracles do happen. Although it was debatable since their relief came from two dozen armed officers with assault rifles leveled at them, uniforms and flashing sirens on their vehicles revealing them as the police. It also didn't help with the two Bullheads descending with armed snipers in both, laser pointers landing on the two.

"Well…" Qrow sighed, holstering his sword. "Looks like our fight is over."

Maine nodded.

"You able to get out of here?"

He nodded again.

"This isn't over." Qrow's eyes narrowed. "We _will_ meet again, and you will pay for what you did."

Maine just sighed, a sigh filled with a surprising amount of emotion. Pain, relief, anger, sorrow, regret.

" _Umm… Mr. Branwen?"_

Qrow looked up as Theta's form appeared next to Maine. "Yeah, kid?"

" _Could you… tell Tex and the others why I left? Just so they don't worry about me."_

He nodded. "Sure thing. Trust me."

" _I am the fragment of Trust."_ Theta shrugged. " _But please, pass on the message. And… tell Jaune that I miss him."_

Just as the cops approached, Maine disappeared. As in, one second, he was there, the next he'd vanished.

The cops all started yelling, and the Bullheads started pulling out, searching, but Qrow just knew it would be fruitless.

He let himself fall on his back, panting heavily. One of the officers - a young man, barely twenty - ran over to him and knelt down. "Sir, are you alright? Do you need anything?"

"Yeah. Help me up."

The officer did, but then raised an eyebrow when he saw where Qrow was leading him. "Really?"

"Look, I ran out of booze a while back." He sat down at the remains of the beachside bar and grabbed an abandoned bottle of wine.

The policeman just sighed and shook his head as Qrow drank from the bottle like it was water.

* * *

"We've lost him?"

"Yep," Qrow replied.

Ozpin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Any chance he will come back?"

"Not anytime soon. Most likely, he'll be resting for a while. Definitely had a couple of busted ribs."

"So we'll say he has the same injuries as you, then. That will give us around a week."

Qrow shrugged. He currently sat in a hospital bed in Beacon, multiple bandages around his body and head, and his sprained wrist in a cast.

" _I can't believe the kid would do that…"_

They both looked to the two scrolls sitting on the table next to them. Tex and Church both stood, the former whom honestly looked distraught and the latter pissed, despite them wearing helmets.

" _This is bullshit!"_ Church growled. " _As if things weren't bad enough!"_

"Still, we have a chance to rest and recover," Ozpin said to Church. "A week should be more than enough to prepare for his next arrival."

" _Look, Jaune's still hurt badly. We need to get Theta to fix him. He won't trust anyone else, even me! I had to go in when he was asleep."_

" _With good reason."_ Tex sighed. " _Who would trust you to solve anything?"_

" _What does THAT mean?!"_

"Church." Ozpin interrupted. "Can you help Mr. Arc?"

" _No."_ Church sighed and crossed his arms. " _Theta's the only one who can fix things in there. All I can do is see what is wrong."_

"And what is wrong with him, exactly?"

" _His personality's got parts of Theta in him. You know, his nervousness, lack of trust for strangers. His memory's also taken a beating to boot. When I tried to check his memories, they were overlapped with Theta's."_ He shuddered. " _It was… weird. There was always this purple static in there, and I could feel the kid's presence there…"_

"Is that all?"

Church remained silent. " _Yes."_

"Are you sure?"

Church then seemed to sag a bit, shoulders slumped. " _No. Not really. I… saw what he'd become. Jaune, I mean. Whenever we go into someone's head, it's basically like a home to them, with a mini figure of themselves inside showing their personality."_

Church looked away. " _Jaune's figure was… he was deformed… it was like half his body melted with Theta's, literally… like, half his face was Theta's, his arm was, they were literally melting together on the floor… And they wouldn't stop crying..."_

Ozpin and Qrow looked at each other while Tex patted Church on the shoulder. "Thank you, that will be all."

The two AI retreated to their scrolls, which Ozpin picked up. "Thank you for giving us time, Qrow."

"No probs, Oz." He replied, grabbing his flask and taking a swig.

Ozpin sighed at that and left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

When Ozpin walked into team JNPR's room, he found team RWBY, Ren, and Nora sitting on the floor with Jaune on the bed and Pyrrha sitting next to him. "Hello, students."

"Hi, Ozpin." Ruby waved, although her smile was weak. "Do you have Church and Tex?"

"Yes, here they are." He handed her scroll to Ruby, but Ren took Pyrrha's scroll from his hand.

"Jaune is… very nervous." Ren whispered to him. "His memory's affected his perception of us, and he doesn't remember which one of us is his friend and who is his enemy. He's got a lot of us mixed up."

Ozpin nodded, casting a look at Jaune, who was still looking between the others with nervous purple eyes. "Right. Could I speak to you outside?"

He nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind him.

"Agent Maine has been knocked back. He'll be back in a week's time to recover from his recent fight with Qrow." He sighed. "If you wish, we can send you back to-"

"No."

Ozpin looked up.

"No." Ren looked at him, eyes hard. "No, we're not running. We're going to face him."

"Mr. Lie, please think about this."

"I have. Jaune got hurt because we were trying to run. And Maine isn't going to stop until he has Sigma. So we have to end this. One way or another, this will end."

Ozpin stared at him. "Are you sure? Your friends... have they agreed?"

"Yes. We talked about it just before you arrived."

"Then so be it." He sighed again, pushing his glasses up. "I do hope you have a plan to combat Maine."

" _Don't worry, we do."_

Ren's eyes glowed orange, and a calm smile appeared on his face.

"Would you be so kind as to explain it to me?"

" _Of course, headmaster."_ Sigma - now controlling Ren - bowed his head. " _It isn't really that complicated."_

* * *

Maine finally arrived at the base, stepping out of the stolen Jeep he'd taken from the Vale Defence Force.

" _So this is it?"_ Theta looked around as they walked through the entrance.

Maine limped over to the medical station and let his armored chest piece fall, before he laid on the table, grunting.

" _Yeah… I can do that. Gimme a sec."_

Small robotic arms appeared from the bed he laid on, and several had needles with pushed themselves into the side of his chest. He hissed in pain, but after the penetration, the needles pulled back, and he stood up, rubbing his now-healing ribs.

He limped to a bed and sat down, tossing his weapons onto the table next to him before removing his armor pieces.

" _It will take a week to heal."_ Theta broke the silence. " _So how will we be ready?"_

Maine growled as he pulled off his gloves.

" _Umm… Fighting Grimm won't exactly prepare us for them."_

Maine growled again throwing off his boots.

" _Oh… stress relief? Well, ok…"_

Maine sighed, leaning back, now wearing his white skinsuit.

" _What are you going to do? I mean, after all of this?"_

Maine remained silent.

" _Ok… Well, I'm… gonna get some rest. See you later?"_

Maine just nodded, and Theta blinked out.

He was glad for that, for he pulled off his helmet and wiped the tears from his eyes.


End file.
